Spring season
Comparing aid offers line by line
Aid offers from different colleges rarely look alike. A simple worksheet turns each one into the same three numbers so you can compare them fairly.
Why offers are hard to compare
Each college writes its offer in its own format. One lists tuition and housing on the first page; another starts with a large total that mixes grants with money a family is expected to come up with later. Some show only one term. Some leave out books, transportation and personal costs entirely. Comparing the headline figure from one letter with the headline figure from another can make a more costly college look like the better deal.
The fix is to rebuild every offer the same way, using three numbers: the full cost of attendance, the gift aid, and the difference between them. Gift aid means grants and scholarships, money that does not have to be paid back or earned. Anything else listed on the letter stays out of the gift aid line.
Step one: find the full cost
The cost of attendance includes direct costs billed by the college, such as tuition, fees and campus housing, and indirect costs the college estimates but does not bill, such as books, transportation and other personal costs. If an offer shows only direct costs, look up the full cost of attendance on the college's aid web page and use that instead. For students living at home, the estimate for housing and food is usually lower, so make sure the figure matches where the student will live.
Step two: add up the gift aid
Go line by line and copy out every grant and scholarship: the Pell Grant, any state grant, the college's own grants and any outside scholarships the student has already won. Note whether each one renews automatically or depends on conditions such as a grade point average or full-time enrollment.
Step three: subtract
Full cost minus gift aid gives the net price, the amount the family would need to cover for that year from income, money set aside or family help. This is the number to compare across colleges.
Worked example: two offers, one decision
Sam has offers from two colleges. College A lists a cost of attendance of $31,000 and gift aid of $19,500: a $7,000 Pell Grant, a $2,500 state grant and a $10,000 college grant. Net price: $11,500.
College B leads with a total of $24,000 on its first page, which looks larger. But only $13,000 of it is gift aid, and its full cost of attendance is $28,000. Net price: $15,000. College A costs $3,500 less for the year even though its headline number was smaller. Sam also notices that College B's grant requires a 3.3 average to renew, while College A's renews with full-time enrollment, so the gap could widen in later years.
Quick reference: the comparison worksheet
| Line | College A | College B |
|---|---|---|
| Full cost of attendance | $31,000 | $28,000 |
| Pell Grant | $7,000 | $7,000 |
| State grant | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| College grant or scholarship | $10,000 | $3,500 |
| Total gift aid | $19,500 | $13,000 |
| Net price for the year | $11,500 | $15,000 |
| Renewal condition for college grant | Full-time enrollment | 3.3 average |
Checklist: compare offers in one sitting
- Gather every offer and the cost of attendance page for each college.
- Write the full cost for each college at the top of the worksheet.
- Copy every grant and scholarship onto its own line.
- Total the gift aid and subtract it from the full cost.
- Note each grant's renewal condition next to its amount.
- Circle the decision deadline for each college on your calendar.
- Call or email any aid office whose figures you cannot reconcile.
Deadlines and deposits
Every offer comes with a date by which the college wants an answer, and many ask for an enrollment deposit at the same time. Put each date on the aid calendar the day the letter arrives. If you are still waiting on one college's offer when another's date is near, ask the waiting college when its offer will be ready, and ask the other whether its date can move. Many colleges will say yes to a short extension if you ask before the date, not after it.
When to ask for a second look
If a family's finances have changed since the tax year the FAFSA asked about, for example after a lost paycheck, a death in the family or a run of large unexpected bills, the aid office can review the file. This review is often called professional judgment. Write a short letter that explains what changed and include documents. Not every request leads to more grant money, but colleges cannot adjust what they do not know about.
Key terms
- Gift aid
- Grants and scholarships: money that does not have to be paid back or earned.
- Net price
- The full cost of attendance minus gift aid; what a family would need to cover for the year.
- Direct costs
- Charges the college bills, such as tuition, fees and campus housing.
- Professional judgment
- An aid office's authority to adjust a file when a family's circumstances have changed.
Questions to ask a college aid office
- Is the cost on this offer the full cost of attendance, or only the billed charges?
- Which grants on this offer renew each year, and what are the conditions?
- If I win an outside scholarship, will you reduce any of your own grants?
- How do I ask for a review if our finances have changed since the tax year on the FAFSA?