Reading an aid offer line by line

Every school formats its offer differently, which makes two letters hard to compare. A few steps put them on the same footing.

Find the cost of attendance

The cost of attendance is the school’s estimate of a full year: tuition and fees, housing and food, books, transport and personal costs. Some of it is billed by the school and some of it you pay elsewhere. If a letter leaves part of it out, ask the aid office for the full figure.

Many schools now use a standard layout called the College Financing Plan, which lists the same lines in the same order. If yours does not, you can rebuild it on paper.

What to do

• Write down the full cost of attendance for every school
• Subtract grants and scholarships only
• Keep loans in their own column
• Ask about a review if your circumstances have changed

Separate gift aid from borrowing

Take the cost of attendance and subtract only grants and scholarships. What remains is your net price, the amount you or your family would cover through savings, earnings or loans.

Loans often appear in the same list as grants. Move them to their own column. They help you pay the net price; they do not reduce it.

The number that matters is what is left after the gift aid, not the total at the bottom of the page.

Accept what you need

You can accept, reduce or decline each item separately. Turning down a loan you do not need, or taking less of it, is normal and costs nothing.

If your family’s situation has changed since you filed, tell the aid office. Schools can review an offer when income drops, a parent loses work or there are medical costs.