These features are most useful once you have entered at least two award letters. If you haven't entered any award letters yet, check out this article for help entering award letters.
Access Your Award Letters
- Go to APPLICATIONS in your profile and select Financial Aid.
Understanding Cost Factors
- Many factors impact college costs. We explain these in the linked article. Below are the settings we used to analyze your award letters.
Compare Financial Aid Offers
- After entering your award letters, you'll see a table that breaks down key components, making it easy to compare offers.
- The table calculates Net Cost, Out-of-Pocket Cost, and Unmet Need based on your award letter details and settings (like your Student Aid Index (SAI) or MAX family contribution).
Visualizing Your Costs
- A bar graph found further down the page helps you see how your total cost is covered by grants, scholarships, work-study, loans, or unmet need.
- The legend explains the colors, and you can download the chart or view data in numbers.
Comparing Cost & Graduation Rates
- A scatter plot compares net cost to graduation rates to help you assess return on investment.
- Click a blue dot for details on a specific schoo.
- Adjust the axes using the dropdown menu to explore different comparisons.
Each tool offers a different perspective, helping you make the most informed financial decision.