Interpreting the Financial Aid Award Letter—Read Carefully!
Dear Parents:
March is an exciting month for our high school seniors. It is stressful for us parents at the same time! Paying for college is becoming a reality….deposits are due soon to hold a spot for your student. Balance for tuition is due later in the summer. Comparing carefully each Financial Aid Award letter is critical to make sure you and your student understand exactly what is being offered. Most Aid letters include LOANS. Please read carefully about the stipulations for any GRANT money which is free money, being offered. Usually, GRANT money is annual and can only be renewed based on the status of the following year’s FAFSA.
Additional merit aid may also listed in the Financial Aid Award letters. Merit Aid is offered to students based on academic performance and standardized testing results. Merit aid is given for the four years the student attends the university. Most students receive their merit aid awards at the time they receive their acceptance to the schools.
The two articles in this newsletter will give you more insights with interpreting the Financial Aid Award letters and help as you compare each school’s Cost of Attendance (COA). Please always keep in mind the Return on Investment (ROI). If your student is attending college with a possible major in something that will require graduate or professional school to give your student a career, please consider sending your student to a reasonably priced college for an undergraduate degree, unless money is not a consideration.
I have students in my practice use a spreadsheet to compare each school’s COA and the amount of money awarded broken into categories (free money versus loans). This helps students and their parents objectively evaluate the best choice based on several points: Fit, Major and Net Cost.
Spring is a time filled with hope and excitement, especially for our graduating seniors. Let’s enjoy and support them through this exciting time!
Sincerely,
Catherine Marrs, CEP
P.S. I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. Please know Marrs CAA is continuing to provide all college planning services utilizing Zoom and FaceTime. We look forward to life returning to normal, but please know we are here to help all students and families as we learn new ways to work together.
Evaluating a Financial Aid Letter: What's Usually Missing
Financial aid awards are often confusing. Plenty of colleges and universities intentionally make financial aid awards hard to decipher to trick families into thinking that their institutions are being generous even when they aren’t.
Since we are in the season of financial aid letters, I wanted to show you how you can easily analyze a financial aid letter.
Financial aid award letters: What to know and how to compare
[...] you may have received financial award offers with your college acceptance letters, but comparing these offers can be a little tricky since there’s no standardized format for financial aid award letters.
However, there are common features that you can assess to effectively weigh your choices and determine which colleges are offering you the best financial incentives.