Ask: Financial aid officeThe FAFSA, start to finish
Course 1 · 6 lessons · 18 min to read
FreeStart lesson 1
Reading your aid offer
Separate the aid you keep from the aid you repay, find your real share of the cost, and compare schools fairly.
- 6 lessons, about 18 minutesRead them in order, or jump to the one you need
- Steps to try after every lessonShort actions for the week ahead
- Who to ask: Financial aid officeDecides your aid package and reads your FAFSA.
- Free, with no sign-inNothing to buy and no account to make
About this course
Aid offers arrive in different layouts from different schools, and a large total can hide a lot of borrowing. This course reads an offer line by line, from the cost of attendance to the grants, loans and work-study inside it.
You will finish with a side-by-side comparison of your own offers and a clear way to ask an aid office to take another look when your situation has changed.
Syllabus
- 6 lessons3 to 3 min each
- 24 steps to trySpread across the lessons
- About 18 min in allAt an easy reading pace
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- Where the offer comes from
- The four parts most offers share
- The details in smaller type
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- Direct costs on your bill
- Indirect costs you pay yourself
- Costs the school can add
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- Grants and scholarships
- Work-study arrives as a paycheck
- Loans come back with interest
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- Start with the net price
- Decide how to cover what remains
- Split the year into terms
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- Build one table for every school
- Use the same assumptions for each
- Compare the right number
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- When a review makes sense
- Gathering what to send
- After you send the request
What the course covers
By the end you can
- Name every line on an offer and what it means
- Separate gift aid from aid you repay or earn
- Work out what you would still owe each year
- Ask for a review with the right documents
Not part of it
- A ranking of your schools
- Negotiating with a school for you
- Any promise of a better offer
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