Financial Aid Award Letters - Decision Time Columbia SC

Financial Aid Award Letters: Decision Time

You just received four financial aid award letters. Now it’s time to do an analysis of each and decide which one works best for you. Who is willing to give you the most free money and minimize your out-of-pocket costs? Making that decision is a family matter, so make sure you share those letters with your parents! If you’re a dependent student, your parents will probably have to borrow some money to pay for your college education.

Financial aid offices refer to aid awards as financial aid packages . This doesn’t mean they show up in a brown box on your front porch, but it does mean that colleges will try to offer you a combination of aid types, “packaged” together in a mix of grants, scholarships, loans, and perhaps a work-study job — that is, if your aid application met the financial aid deadline! If you missed the deadline date, you may only be awarded a loan or a job. It pays to apply on time!

Here are some critical points to consider when making a financial decision about where you will spend the next four, or maybe five, years:

• Each award letter should state the school’s academic year cost of attendance (COA). Compare the letters side by side. Does the COA include all projected costs? Tuition, fees, room, board, books, transportation, and personal expenses are what normally make up the COA.

Author: Alan Frost

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