Financial Aid Offer Comparison Worksheet

Who this is for

Put every college's offer on the same footing. Page one adds up a year's cost at each college, takes off grants for the net cost and shows what is still to find; page two lists each loan and the borrowing over the course.

Students holding offers from more than one college or university, and the parents or guardians helping them work out which offer is affordable rather than which looks largest.

What this helps you track

• The full cost of a year at each college, not only tuition
• Grants and scholarships that do not have to be repaid
• The net cost once that money is taken off
• What is still to find after work-study, loans and family money
• Each loan's rate and fee, and the borrowing over the whole course

How to use it

1. Write the student's name, the academic year and the number of years the course lasts, then list the colleges in the same order in every table.
2. From each offer letter and college website, enter tuition and fees, housing and meals, books, travel and other costs, adding any the letter leaves out.
3. Copy each college's cost per year into the second table, then enter grants and scholarships, work-study, loans offered and family or own money.
4. On page two, list each loan with its amount per year, rate and fee as offered.
5. Net cost, still to find and borrowing are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add and subtract across each line.
6. Put the questions on page two to each financial aid office before deciding.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What is the difference between net cost and still to find?

Net cost is the year's cost less grants and scholarships, the money you do not repay. Still to find is what remains once work-study, loans and family money are counted as well; a minus figure means the offer covers more than the cost.

Why copy the cost per year into the second table?

The first table works out each college's full cost and the second needs that figure to take the aid off. On paper you copy it across; in the browser and the workbook, type the total from the first table into the second.

Does the sheet assume the aid is the same every year?

Yes: borrowing over the course multiplies this year's loans by the years you enter. Ask each college whether grants renew and whether costs change, and adjust the figures if they do.

Does it tell me which loans to accept?

No. It sets out the amount, rate and fee of each loan as offered so they can be compared. Check the terms with the lender or the college's financial aid office before accepting any loan.