If you are one of the lucky students who has received acceptance letters from more than one college, congratulations! Your hard work and persistence has paid off, but you now have the difficult decision of choosing which college will be your home this fall. Each college that has offered you admission should also be sending you a financial aid award letter very soon. Although no two award letters are alike, most will contain similar information on what grants, scholarships and loans will be provided to you, should you choose to attend. The information in these letters is very important and sometimes a little confusing, but each should be considered seriously before making your final decision. Here are some things to look for when comparing your college financial aid packages.
Compare Cost of Attendance
When considering colleges, be sure you understand the ‘true cost’ of attendance. This includes not only tuition and fees, but also housing, meals, books, transportation and more. It’s important to know this figure when looking at the amount of financial aid being offered by each college, as this will determine how much you can expect to pay out-of-pocket your first year of college. Although one school may have a much higher tuition rate and other fees, it may actually offer enough aid to be competitive or even cheaper than another school with a lower tuition rate. There’s often a big gap between the list price of a college and the actual price, once all financial aid is factored in.
![Gift Aid]( "Gift Aid")
Understand Gift Aid v. Self-Help Aid
Many schools will list all available financial aid together, which can be a bit confusing for many students. If you receive an award letter that seems substantial, be sure to differentiate how much is gift-aid (money you don’t have to pay back) and how much is self-help aid (loans or work-study). In order to keep your student loan debt to a minimum, you’ll want an aid package that contains mostly grants and scholarships, instead of federal student loans. Be sure to do the math on each offer to see which package truly offers the most free money for college.
Review Scholarship Terms
Some colleges are guilty of front-loading their financial aid offers. This means, you will receive generous scholarship and grant offers to get you in the door, but much of that free money will disappear over your remaining years on campus; it’s important to ask each college if the scholarships are renewable at the same amount and if there are requirements for keeping the awards in subsequent years. Most renewable scholarships will require you to maintain a certain number of credit hours and/or require a minimum grade point average, as well. Knowing how much aid will be available to you over the next four or five years should play an important part in making your final decision on where you will attend college this fall.
Comparing your financial aid offers side-by-side may not only help you determine which college is best for you, but it could also save you thousands over the course of your college degree. It’s important to look at each package carefully and determine how much you will have to pay, including any student loans that may be required to help cover your expenses. If you still find you are leaning toward one college, but another offers more in gift-aid, it never hurts to ask the financial aid department if it would be willing to match the offer; the worse they can say is ‘no.’
Need more help deciding which college may be best for you? Check out the college planning tools at WiseChoice.com.