Compare financial aid offers
Copy the numbers from each aid letter into its own column. You will see what each school really costs this year, with the free money kept apart from the loans, so two letters laid out differently can be read side by side.
Put each school in its own column, using the figures from its aid letter. Leave a box blank if the letter does not list it.
How they compare
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Reading the result
Net price is the number to compare. It is the cost of attendance minus grants and scholarships, the only part of an offer that makes college cheaper. Loans and work-study are ways to pay the net price. They do not lower it.
The four-year figure is a rough guess. It multiplies this year by four, which assumes the cost and the grants stay the same. Costs usually rise a little each year. Ask each school whether its grants and scholarships renew, and what your student has to do to keep them.
The monthly payment is a yardstick. It pays the loans off over ten years at the rates shown. It leaves out loan fees and the interest that builds up on unsubsidized and Parent PLUS loans during school, so the real payment runs somewhat higher. For loans made on or after July 1, 2026, the standard plan gives larger balances 15, 20 or 25 years, which lowers the monthly payment and raises the total you pay back.
If one offer looks wrong for your family, reading and comparing aid offers explains how to appeal it. The borrowing gap calculator checks a year's gap against the Parent PLUS limits.
Checked against primary sources on 2026-11-08. Rules in this area change; verify anything you are about to act on.