Understanding your Financial Award Letter

You got your financial aid award letter…now what? We’re here to help you break it down! To start to understand your financial aid award letter, you must first understand these key terms: 

1. Cost of Attendance (COA): an estimate of what it costs to attend a university for a full academic school year based on average tuition, fees, boarding, transportation, and supplies
   

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2. Student Aid Index (SAI): an eligibility index number that a school’s financial aid office uses to determine how much federal student aid you would receive if you attended the school
   • How SAI is calculated:
     • This number results from the information that you provide in your FAFSA form. It is calculated by taking the total financial resources of you and your parents then deducts the minimum amount needed for your family’s normal annual living expenses. The remaining amount may, in part, be allocated for college expenses.
       

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3. Financial Need: the difference between your Student Aid Index (SAI) and the Cost of Attendance (COA) of a university
   

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4. Needs-Based Aid: Need-based aid is financial aid you can receive if you have financial need and meet other eligibility criteria
   • Examples include: 
     • Federal Pell Grant
     • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
     • Direct Subsidized Loan

     • Federal Work-Study

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5. Merit-Based Aid: Your school determines how much merit-based aid you can get by subtracting awarded aid so far from COA
   • Non Federal Examples:
     • Grants and/or scholarships awarded by your school
     • Private scholarship providers
   • Federal Examples:
     • Direct Unsubsidized Loan
     • Direct PLUS Loan

     • Teacher Education Access for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant

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Now, you may be wondering: “What will I have to pay for myself?” We call that Unmet Need. The below graphic shows how you can determine your unmet need, which will help you make an informed decision on which school is best for you:

Remember, you can always reach out to your Peer Leaders (or fellow Peer Leaders if you are one yourself), PeerForward Advisor, or PeerForward Coach for more help understanding your financial aid award package! They are trained specifically to help others in moments such as this. Take full advantage of going to a PeerForward school!