You're starting to receive financial aid award offers -
which one is best?

Five Strategies for Decoding Financial Aid Award Offers

You've been accepted for admission and are starting to receive your financial aid awards. Some schools are sending paper letters, while others are sending an email directing you to the school's online system. Before committing to any school, review and carefully compare each award offer using these tips.

1. Not all award letters look alike.
Schools do not use a standard template, so each aid award you receive may look different. Your aid award may include grants and scholarships, work study, and loans that you may be eligible to receive or apply for. Each award may be broken down by term (often by semester) to show when the award will be available. Check out FAME's short informational videos on Financial Aid Awards for more information.

2. Your net price is more important than the school's published cost.
 Expensive schools sometimes offer some of the best financial aid packages and can ultimately be the more affordable option. A good way to get an "apples-to-apples" comparison is to determine the net price of each school. To calculate net price, take the cost of the school and subtract your grants and scholarships (funds that don't have to be repaid). You may be surprised to discover which school is the most affordable!

3.  Understand what each award on your award letter involves.
Examine each award to see if it is a grant, scholarship, work study or loan. Are any of the awards renewable? If so, is there a certain GPA you must maintain? Are there any other requirements, such as continued enrollment in a particular major or the need to be enrolled full-time? Carefully review the information included with each award letter or visit the school's financial aid page for additional details.

4. Compare before you commit.
Before committing to any school, calculate the out-of-pocket cost to attend each school you are considering.   FAME's Award Letter Comparison Worksheet can help you with this comparison. Review the amount of loans being offered and calculate the loan debt over the total time of your enrollment to be sure that the amount is manageable. (Keep in mind that  loan amounts can change each year.) 

5. Find out how to receive your aid.
Carefully review your award letter and the school's financial aid page to determine what additional steps are required to receive your aid. If you are planning to take out loans, make sure you understand what you need to do before you can receive those funds. Deadlines continue to be important, so be sure to follow up in a timely manner.

If you have questions about any part of the financial aid process, contact your school's financial aid office.  FAME is here to help too: c all us at 800-228-3734 or email us at  [email protected] .

Want More Information?

Join us on Wednesday, April 13th at 10:00AM for this month's Wednesday Webinar, "Decoding Financial Aid Award Letters: A Guide to Finding the Most Affordable Option." Click the button below to register today:

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