Aid Package
Award Letter
UNDERSTANDING
AID RECEIVED
Please note due to the new "Better FAFSA" application, everything below that mentioned Expected Family Contribution (EFC) should now be called the Student Aid Index (SAI). The following resources will be updated once the "Better FAFSA" has been officially released in late December 2023.
Financial aid offices use the award letter to provide students and their families with information about the composition of the financial aid package, the cost of attendance, and the institution’s financial aid policies and procedures.
The financial assistance listed on your Financial Aid Award Letter is based on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If the information you submitted on your FAFSA changes, then this award may be subject to change.
Evaluating Financial Aid Award Letters (Webpage from FastWeb)
Understanding Your Financial Aid Offer (Webage scroll down to the Video from Sallie Mae)
How to Read Financial Aid Award Letters (Webpage from Edvisors)
Financial Aid 101: The Award Letter.pdf
AID COMPARISON TOOLS
College Financing Plan Template (Webpage from US Department of Education)
Annotated College Financing Plan (Webpage from US Department of Education)
Award Letter Comparison Tool (Webpage from FastWeb)
Financial Aid Comparision Worksheet (Webpage from ScholarsMatch)
Compare your Aid Awards (Webpage from BigFuture College Board)
HOW TO FIND YOUR UH FINANCIAL AID PACKAGE
SAMPLE AID PACKAGES
Khan Academy has provided a few example packages for students at Stanford University. These packages are not meant to indicate exactly what you would receive if you were accepted at Stanford; rather, it is meant to give you a sense of how financial packages can be constructed across a variety of income levels.
You can find more information about financial aid awards at Big Future
Sample package for student whose family makes $41k/year
First up, we have an example financial aid package for a student coming from a family of 5 that makes $41,000 / year. This package is built assuming that the student is the only child in the family attending college (if multiple children are attending at the same time, it can increase the amount of need-based aid a family receives).
The cost of attendance per year is listed at $63,206. The student received a total of $60,206 in need-based scholarships/grants, covering nearly the entire cost of attendance. This leaves a net cost for the student of $3,000/year which he/she can cover through work-study as recommended below:
Sample package for student whose family makes $85k/year
Next we have an example financial aid package for a student coming from a family of 4 that makes $85,000 / year. This package is built assuming that the student is the only child in the family attending college (if multiple children are attending at the same time, it can increase the amount of need-based aid a family receives).
The cost of attendance per year is listed at $63,206. The student received a total of $50,706 in need-based scholarships/grants, leaving a net cost of $12,500/year for the family to cover. The package recommends that the parents contribute $7,500 and the student contributes $2,200 from earnings or savings; however, those amounts could be supplemented by Federal Loans if desired. Finally, it is suggested that the student cover the remaining $2,800 through a work-study job:
Sample package for student whose family makes $185k/year
Finally, we have an example financial aid package for a student coming from a family of 4 that makes $185,000 / year. This package is built assuming that the student is the only child in the family attending college (if multiple children are attending at the same time, it can increase the amount of need-based aid a family receives).
The cost of attendance per year is listed at \63,206. The student received a total of $8,206 in need-based scholarships/grants, leaving a net cost of $55,000/year for the family to cover. The package recommends that the parents contribute $50,000 and the student contributes $2,200 from earnings or savings; however, those amounts could be supplemented by Federal Loans if desired. Finally, it is suggested that the student cover the remaining $2,800 through a work-study job:
