Insider Secrets For Parents To Evaluate Financial Aid Awards From Connecticut Colleges

As a parent of a college bound student in Connecticut you do not have to feel helpless and forced to accept a financial aid awards letter. It probably shocked you when you first looked at the financial aid awards letter and realized that it was mostly student loans. If you are willing to put a little time and effort into evaluating financial aid award offers then here are some smart tips and strategies that can make a huge difference.

When you receive an awards letter the amounts should be compared to the percentage of need met, percentage of gift-aid, and percentage of self-help aid that the college advertises. If the amounts are different than what theCollege Application Process advertises, then you have grounds for an appeal. I tell all of my families that if the award letter does not meet your expectations you should appeal it to the financial aid officer.

Do not ignore the obvious because if your family has special circumstances that have not been considered by the financial aid officer, then you should absolutely appeal the award letter.
You need to know how “private scholarships” are handled. Do they reduce grants or loans in the award letter on a dollar for dollar basis? Additionally if the student has a “private scholarship,” find out how it will affect a 4-year scholarship offered by the college.
Make sure that you have a good understanding of the criteria that must be met to keep the grants or scholarships such as a minimum GPA in order to keep a 4-year scholarship.

Compute and verify the terms (interest, repayment policies) of the loans that are part of the financial aid awards package are. Ask the financial aid officer what are additional sources of funding that the school recommends to cover the difference between what the family can afford and what the financial aid package covers.
You also need to know the impact that outside scholarships the student receives after accepting the financial aid package would affect the financial aid package offer.
I realize that this is a lot of information to digest, but take your time or visit my website to get more great strategies to evaluate your financial aid award offers in Connecticut.

If you are the parent of a college bound high school senior that has received a financial aid award letter that is mostly comprised of student loans then click here to learn how you can use your financial aid awards letter to get more real free money.