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Comparing Financial Aid AwardsComparing financial aid awards from different colleges can be a little tricky because each school can "present" your award any way it wishes. Most will send you what's called a financial aid award letter that outlines all the assistance you are eligible to receive. There are some very important things to consider when trying to assess which school is actually giving you the best deal. Here's the most important.
Do NOT Just Compare The Total Aid At The BottomDifferent schools "count" or include different types of aid in their totals so just comparing the "bottom line" totals may often lead you to a false conclusion. You are going to want to actually break each award down by the type of aid offered and compare it to the actual cost to attend each school in order to know your best deal.I'm going to show you how to do this step by step in a second. If you are already ready to get going, though, there is a handy little spreadsheet tool that you can use (FREE) to help you.
Beware Of ALL PLUS LoansPLUS loans are a type of loan that is not really financial aid awarded by the college. It is a loan that your parents have to go out and apply for on their own. If they don't apply, you won't get that money. And, THEY COULD BE TURNED DOWN if their credit is not strong. So, don't count any PLUS loan amounts you see as financial aid you are receiving from that institution.And, you should know that many schools count this as part of the financial aid package they are awarding you EVEN THOUGH THEY REALLY DON'T AWARD IT! So, it ends up looking like they are giving you a lot more assistance then they really are. Also, a lot of PLUS loans are shown on awards in very large amounts. Like I said, beware of these! By the way, if your parents are denied a PLUS loan if they choose to apply for one (and a lot do and that's fine) there is another loan that the you (the student) will qualify for called an Unsubsidized Stafford Loan (a federal program) but the limit on that is only $4,000 for your first year (as I write this) and that is usually much, much less than the amount of the PLUS loan the school assumed your parents would take out to help you pay for your education. I know that's getting a little complicated, so just pull out any PLUS loans you see on any of your awards as you figure out which school is offering you the most help. By the way, there is absolutely nothing wrong with PLUS loans. Many, many parents use them to help their children and I am absolutely not knocking them as a tool to help you. I'm just trying to show you how they really aren't something the school is giving you for assistance even though they include it in their letter to you.
Compare Scholarship And Grant Money As A % Of TuitionI believe this is the simplest way to compare financial aid awards. Yes, there are other things to consider but this cuts right to the chase.You will need to know what the tuition is at each school to do this calculation. Pull out any and all items labeled scholarship or grant money and add them up for each institution. Then divide the tuition for that school by the total scholarship and grant money you are being offered. Multiply that by 100 and the resulting percentage will show you which school is offering you the highest percentage of gift aid (money you don't have to earn or pay back).
Watch Out For Costly Additional FeesThe previous exercise only included tuition. It would be wise to also add ALL fees that you will be responsible for, too. These can add up in a hurry and I've seen them easily total hundreds of dollars and sometimes more!They are things like technology fees, lab fees, health center fees, student activity fees, recreation center fees, health insurance fees, cable tv fees, phone fees and all other kinds of things. They usually cover all sorts of items but are "packaged" in different ways. Make sure you call every financial aid office at each school you are considering for a total of tuition and ALL fees that you will be responsible for (and room and board if you are going to live on campus, too).
Compare Work-Study DollarsWork-study is a federal program where you are assigned a part-time job on campus and then you earn funds that you can use to pay for your education.Not all colleges utilize their funding from this program in the same fashion. Different schools may give differing amounts of aid in this category. You need to know that the difference isn't really more of a gift because you will be working more hours for that money! However, it is truly more aid because the school does control how much you can earn. When you hit the limit of your award, you're shut off from working any more hours. By the way, all financial aid awards ASSUME that you will use all of the money you are paid to put towards your education. You will get a paycheck if you desire and you can use it for anything you want. BUT, if you don't use it as they financial aid office is assuming, you will end up with a balance owed on your bill. That's not a good thing so plan accordingly.
Total Each School's Loan OffersThe last thing to look at is the amount of loans that each school is offering. NOT INCLUDING PLUS LOANS. Different schools use the funds available to them in different ways. And, there many different kinds of loans you may see. Some are better than others.But, don't worry about those details right now. Just total the amount of each loan and add it up for each institution. That will allow you to see whose giving you the most of this kind of aid. I know, it doesn't really seem like aid because you have to pay it back, but the opportunity to not have to pay some of them back until you graduate and attractive interest rates is a very good thing.
How Much Do You Have To Come Up With Out Of Your Own Funds To AttendThis is truly where "the rubber hits the road!" What you are trying to figure out in all of this is how much money you have to come up with to attend each school for one year.Add up each total in each area for every school. That's the toal amount of assistance you are being offered (remember not to count PLUS loans). Then subtract that total from that school's tuition fees and room and board. That's how much you have to come up with to go there for one year. Remember, your financial aid award is calculated with the school expecting your family to help you out. How much your parents can and will help you is a conversation you need to have with them before you get to this point.
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