Where to find fafsa award letter

Once the details surrounding the amount of financial aid are received, you can compare offers from different schools by using a financial aid calculator. To fully understand the financial aid package being offered by a school, students must look beyond the basics contained in the award letter. There are significant costs that can be easily overlooked.

Make sure that all potential costs are included like: housing, food, transportation, books, supplies, additional fees, and other living expenses. For example, will an injury void an athletic scholarship? Financial aid award offer letters may include federal student loans and the related terms. You may choose to accept or decline these loans. Those students considering these financing options should carefully review details such as:. If work-study opportunities are included in the financial aid award offer, ask the admissions counselor:.

After gathering the necessary information and performing the comparison, the next step is to make a decision. Still need more money for college? We recommend consulting a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions.

This site may be compensated through our partner relationships. Department of Education. Financial Aid. Other Resources. Other Calculators. Online Degrees. Online Colleges. Paying For Online Education. Carol Katarsky Updated on March 11, There are four components you need to consider: Yearly costs, such as tuition, fees, books, room and board, travel expenses, etc. Financial aid that you don't have to pay back, such as scholarships, grants, and work-study Financial aid that you do need to pay back, such as as federal loans What's left after accounting for the above three items — that's the amount you'll need to pay out of pocket, or pay with private student loans.

This is also called the "tuition gap. Example 1 This letter is unusual in that it provides a lot of details, allowing us to draw a pretty comprehensive picture of what this school will cost. This amount will need to paid out-of-pocket, with private student loans, or with other funding sources.

So where does that leave this student overall? This amount will need to be paid out-of-pocket, with private student loans, or with other funding sources. Example 3 In this example, the school has listed a very simplistic view of the financial picture. The first loan listed is a Perkins loan, listed as Perkins L. Example 4 In this example, we have no estimate for costs whatsoever. So what did we find out from this award letter? We have no idea what the total cost of attendance is just by looking at the award letter.

More research is needed. This family will need to get the cost of attendance before that number can be calculated. Example 5 In this example, like the previous school, no cost estimate is provided, so the family will need that data before they can know whether the aid package is a good deal.

The family will need to get estimates before they can know how attractive this award package really is. Again, this family will need to get numbers for direct and indirect costs before this can be calculated. Final thoughts Overall, when comparing the costs of the individual schools by their award letters, be smart and read beyond the bottom line.

About the Author. By providing your email address, you agree to our Privacy Policy , and you give College Ave Student Loans permission to contact you. College Ave respects your inbox and will only send periodic emails. Department of Education. The timeline varies among schools, but here is what you can expect during that process. Depending on the schools you applied to, they may come back to you asking for additional scholarship, grant, or financial aid information.

Some students applying to select colleges and universities are also required to fill out a standardized form called the CSS Profile , which assesses the financial history of students and their families to determine their eligibility for institutional financial aid.

While your application is being processed, the U.