Going away to college for the first time is tough, and picking which school to go to can be just as challenging. Every college or university has their pros and cons. You may like the campus but feel too far from home. You may love the school culture, but can’t find your desired course of study. There are a million factors to consider, but possibly the most important one of all is financial.
Every school that accepts you will send you a financial aid award letter. This document illustrates how much your school costs, how much help you’ll get paying for it, and how much money you’ll be expected to take out in federal or private student loans. The infographic goes into detail, but we’ll talk about these issues here to help it all make sense.
Even though each financial aid award letter looks a little different, they will all contain the same information categories. First, you’ll see exactly how much it costs to go to the school in question. This number is derived by considering tuition, cost of room and board, and how much you’ll have to pay for books, materials, and other supplies. This number can be pretty high, but luckily for you, you won’t have to pay all of it.
Then the institution will tell you how much you are expected to pay out of pocket. They were able to figure this out according to the information you gave in your FAFSA documents. Your family will only be expected to pay what they can afford, so the rest of your tuition will have to made up some other way. This balance is paid in the form of scholarships, grants, and student loans. The money that is not covered by scholarships and grants will have to be made up by student loans, federal or private. That’s about it. With this information, you should be able to understand all of your financial aid award letters.
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