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How
to Use This Award Comparison Tool
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1.
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Gather cost information for each school. Do Not Guess! Be accurate. Sources for this information are:
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Award letter
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Supplemental information sent with award letter
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School publications
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School website
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2.
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Enter the school names at the top of the worksheet. You can enter up to 4 schools on each
worksheet.
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3.
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Cost of Attendance
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Enter tuition, fees, room and board for each school for the
academic year into the billed cost section.
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Enter your estimates of other
academic year costs for each school.
For transportation, calculate the cost of a round trip from home to
campus and multiply by the number of round trips expected. Consult the school's academic calendar for
the number of breaks during the year.
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4.
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Award Package
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Enter your financial aid from
your award letter in the applicable category (grants/scholarships, work or
loan).
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Do not enter Federal PLUS Loan
or "Estimated" Federal PLUS Loan in the Student Loan section. Federal PLUS Loans are parent loans.
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If you've won private
scholarships, have you notified the school?
Do you know how or if your school award will change? Make sure that's reflected on the
worksheet.
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5.
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Compare your awards
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Compare the percent of total costs covered by
grants/scholarships, work, loan and family for each school.
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How much will you need to borrow in student loans?
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If work-study is included in your award package, how many
hours will you need to work to earn the awarded amount? Is that realistic?
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If not, revise the work-study award amount in your package to
reflect the amount you expect to be able to earn.
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Compare how much of your expected billed costs will be covered by financial aid and how much you will need to pay the
school.
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All things considered, what is the best possbile decision for
you?
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6.
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Submit
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When finished,
click Submit on the Colleges Tab. Your
adviser will get a copy and you will get a copy.
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