Working out your own share

Start with the net price

Take the cost of attendance and subtract every grant and scholarship on the offer. The result is your net price, the amount left after gift aid. It is the clearest measure of what a year at the school costs you, because it leaves out money you would have to earn or pay back.

If the school's own remaining-cost line already subtracted loans or work-study, set it aside and do this calculation yourself. A figure that treats borrowed money as if it lowers the price can make an expensive school look affordable.

Decide how to cover what remains

Next, list the ways you could pay the net price. Common sources include savings, help from family, earnings from a job or work-study, a school payment plan that spreads the bill across the term, and student loans. Write a planned amount beside each source until the total equals your net price.

Put loans last on that list, after savings, earnings and payment plans. Borrowing may still be the right choice, and placing it at the end shows you how much you actually need rather than how much you were offered.

Federal loans also carry an origination fee that comes out before the money reaches the school. The amount applied to your account is a little smaller than the amount you borrow, and the aid office can show you the difference.

Split the year into terms

Aid is usually paid out term by term, so a yearly total can hide a shortfall at the start of each term. Divide the direct costs and the gift aid by the number of terms, and compare the result with what you will owe when the first bill is due. Work-study earnings will not help here, since they arrive with each paycheck.

Then check the indirect costs separately. Rent, groceries and books are due on your own schedule, and the money for them may come from a refund the school sends after aid pays the bill. Ask student accounts when refunds are usually released so you can plan for the weeks before one arrives.