How do I compare financial aid offers?
Sort each offer into free money (grants and scholarships) and everything else (work-study and loans), then compare what each school will actually cost you, not its sticker price. Use each college's net price calculator, file the FAFSA, and ask every aid office for its outside scholarship policy before you commit.
What should I look at first when comparing financial aid offers?
Start by separating money you keep from money you owe or work for. A college package can include grants from the school, work-study and loans, and those pieces are not equal.
Put every offer into the same simple sorting:
- Free money: grants and scholarships, including the school's own institutional aid.
- Work-study: part of the package, but not a gift.
- Loans: debt, even when the interest rate is low.
The first pile is the one to compare hardest. As the book puts it, a college that hands you fifteen thousand a year in institutional aid just out-gifted a decade of essay contests in one envelope.
Why do colleges' own offers matter more than outside scholarships?
Colleges give far more than any other source. According to the College Board's Trends in Student Aid 2025, colleges hand out more than eighty-five billion dollars a year in grants and scholarships from their own funds, while all private outside scholarships combined total roughly eight billion dollars.
That means the aid offers you receive are your biggest lever. Comparing them well is a first-tier move, not a footnote to the scholarship hunt.
Outside scholarships still matter. They are how you cover the gap that is left after the college's own aid.
What is net price, and why do net price calculators matter?
Net price is what a college will actually cost you, and it can be very different from what the campus tour suggests. Two colleges can look identical and behave completely differently with money.
Here is why. At one school, your grades put you in the middle of the pack and you pay close to full freight. At another, the same grades put you near the top of the applicant pool, and schools pay for the students who raise their averages.
Every college is required to publish a net price calculator on its website. The book's verdict: fifteen minutes with those calculators tells you more about what college will actually cost than a month of scholarship browsing. Use them before you apply, and again when you compare offers.
How does the FAFSA affect the aid offers I get?
The FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, unlocks or influences most of the money you will see in an offer. It opens the door to federal Pell Grants (free money, up to several thousand a year, never paid back), federal work-study, low-interest federal loans if you want them, and your state's grant programs. Most schools also use it to decide who gets their own aid.
A few practical points from the book:
- File early in the fall of your senior year. Some aid, especially state programs, is first-come, first-served and can run out.
- Do not skip it because your family makes too much. The formulas weigh family size and siblings in college, not just income, and some colleges require a filed FAFSA before giving merit money.
- Keep the FAFSA Submission Summary. After you file, you also see your Student Aid Index, the number colleges use to figure your aid.
- Re-file every year. Aid follows the form, and the form expires annually.
What is scholarship displacement, and what should I ask about outside scholarships?
Scholarship displacement is when a college reduces its own aid because you won an outside scholarship. Say you win two thousand dollars from a community foundation and report it. If the college cuts its aid by two thousand dollars, your total stays the same and only the college's bill went down.
The book's key question, asked before you commit, is: "What is your outside scholarship policy?" Every financial aid office has an answer, and many publish it on their website.
- Good to hear: outside scholarships reduce loans and work-study before they touch institutional grants. That replaces debt with free money.
- Push back on: outside awards reduce institutional aid dollar for dollar.
Some displacement is just math, because federal rules cap your total aid at your official cost of attendance. What matters is which part of the package gives way. Two schools courting the same student can differ by thousands of real dollars purely on this policy.
Some states restrict or ban displacement, at least at public colleges. As of the book's writing, that included seven states, starting with Maryland in 2017, but the list changes, so check your own state's current rules through its higher-education agency.
What is a simple checklist for comparing two or more offers?
Run every offer through the same short list so nothing gets compared by feel.
- Sort each package into free money, work-study and loans.
- Run the school's net price calculator and compare the results side by side.
- Confirm your FAFSA is filed and note any state deadlines, which are often earlier than college deadlines.
- Ask each aid office for its outside scholarship policy, in writing if you can.
- Report every outside award you win. Hiding one is aid fraud, and the school usually finds out anyway when the check comes through it.
This is general guidance, not individualized financial advice. The financial aid office at each college is the best free resource for your specific situation.
The whole system, in one book
Chapter 1, "Follow the Money," shows why a college's own aid dwarfs outside scholarships, and Chapter 3, "The FAFSA Is Your First Scholarship," walks through what the form unlocks and why to file early. Chapter 12, "When Winning Costs You," goes deeper on displacement, including the exact wording to listen for from an aid office and the polite letter to send.
Want every award, not just 100? The full 2027-28 directory covers 1,500+ verified programs checked against the sponsors' own sites in September 2026 ($40).
Sources
- College Board (2025). Trends in Student Aid 2025. research.collegeboard.org
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to tell my college about an outside scholarship I win?
Yes. You are required to report it, and hiding an award is aid fraud that can cost you your entire package and your enrollment. The scholarship provider usually sends the check through the school anyway, so the college finds out regardless. Ask about its policy openly instead.
What if I already committed to a college and then won a scholarship?
Call the financial aid office and ask them to apply the award against your loans first. Do it politely and in writing. According to the book, this works more often than silence does, and it keeps the award from simply replacing the college's own grants.
Should I file the FAFSA if my family makes too much to qualify?
Yes. Families talk themselves out of filing and some would have qualified, since formulas weigh family size and siblings in college as well as income. Even with zero federal grants, many colleges and private scholarships require a filed FAFSA before awarding money, including merit money.
Is scholarship displacement legal?
It depends on your state. The book says seven states restrict or ban it, at least at public colleges, beginning with Maryland in 2017, and the list is growing. Everywhere else it is legal and up to each school's policy, so verify your state's current rules.
Where can I find a college's outside scholarship policy?
Ask the financial aid office, since every aid office has an answer, and check its website, where many publish the policy. Ask before you commit, because the policy can change what a package is really worth by thousands of dollars.
More answers
General guidance from Scholarships, Figured Out, not individualized financial, legal or tax advice. Rules and deadlines change; confirm them with the program or your school's financial aid office.
Sources
Official and primary sources on the topic. Rules, deadlines and figures change, so confirm current details there before you act.
- Paying for College (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). Offers guides and tools on paying for college, including student loans, repayment and the FAFSA.
- College Affordability and Transparency Center (U.S. Department of Education). Links to tools for comparing colleges' tuition, fees and net price, plus resources on college costs and financing.
- Trends in Student Aid: Highlights (College Board Research). Summarizes 2024-25 student aid, including $85.1 billion in institutional grant aid, federal and state grants, and loan trends.