Picking the Best Financial Aid Package

Search information to help figure out which package meets your needs

By Kimberly Hardy

Paying for college—the final frontier. It does not, however, have to be the most dreadful. After all, your college-bound students have already sent their applications and have already been accepted. The hard part is over! The fiscal issues surrounding college, however, can be stressful if you don't know what to look for.

Many colleges and universities are very helpful—and generous—when it comes to offering financial aid, but become a wise shopper before you accept just anything. Simply because a package may meet 100 percent of your need doesn't mean it's the best deal.

When searching for the right package, the key is to start looking early. Inquire about the types of financial aid offered by the school(s) your students have applied to. You should be interested in the aid the school can provide beyond federal loans, grants, and work-study jobs. You'll want to know if a school has scholarships and grants of its own. Also, search to find out how dedicated to meeting your financial needs a school is. For instance, Duke University in North Carolina is committed to meeting 100 percent of the students' financial need. If you find this out in advance, it may help you narrow down your choices in terms of where you'll consider applying for aid.

Another key is to look everywhere else. Thousands of sources of financial aid—Web sites, scholarship books, community organizations—exist. Did you know there is a scholarship for students who are left-handed? If you work for the United States Postal Service, your students may be eligible for an academic college scholarship from one of your unions. Are your students interested in studying women's literature at a liberal arts school in the Midwest? Money is out there for them. Consider all of the sources that exist: the Internet, the library, or your students' counselors are all great places to start.

A final key to fiscal success in college funding is to complete and return the FAFSA financial aid form as soon after January 1 (the earliest it can be submitted) as possible. You want to know what federal dollars your students will be eligible for as soon as possible because this will help you negotiate a good package with the school(s) they are interested in.

Now, let's suppose two schools have offered your students financial aid packages that meet 100 percent of your demonstrated need as determined by your Student Aid Report from the FAFSA. The single most important thing you'll want to consider is the amount of debt for which you and your students will be liable. Look at the chart below:

Both schools will meet your family's financial needs, but University 1 is offering $5,000 in student loans, which must be paid back with interest. Scholarship searching by you and your students may well have covered that expense in University 2.

University 1

• $5,000—Federal loans
• $1,200—Work-study
• $2,000—Federal grant
• $1,300—Scholarships (from school)
• $9,500/year with debt

University 2

• $5,000—Scholarship (other sources)
• $1,200—Work-study
• $2,000—Federal grant
• $1,300—Scholarships (from school)
• $9,500/year without debt

Reducing the amount of debt you and your students will have upon graduation is important. You don't want to burden them with thousands of dollars of debt right out of school. It may not be possible to avoid loans altogether, but you want to hunt for every free dollar you can early on to reduce the debt later.

If a school truly wants your college-bound students in its freshman class, it will work with you to find funding sources. It's never too early to start looking—a few hours spent performing scholarship and grant searches now can save you lots of cash and anxiety later.

Kimberly Hardy, M.S.W., is beginning the fourth year of her Ph.D. at The University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.