Navigating financial aid to pay for your college education can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the process. The good news is that if you’re reading this, you’ve likely made it past the hardest step: submitting your financial aid applications!
If you have questions about what your financial aid offer means, you’re not alone. Katie Conrad, Georgia Tech’s executive director of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, breaks down the top questions you may have about navigating your financial aid offer.
Whether you’re a Georgia Tech student or attending a different university, it’s important to understand how to leverage your financial aid package to make your degree more affordable.
Where can you find your financial aid offer?
At Georgia Tech, you’ll receive an email from the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid instructing you to log onto the student portal on OSCAR. In that portal, you’ll be able to review the financial aid offer you’ve received.
When you open this offer, you’ll see the total estimated cost of attendance along with the financial aid you’re eligible to receive.
How was my financial aid offer determined?
Your financial aid offer is determined based on all of the forms you submitted to our office: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the CSS Profile, and the Georgia Tech Application for Scholarships and Financial Aid (GT App).
We use this information to determine how much financial need you demonstrate and how much financial aid you’re eligible to receive.
What does my financial aid offer mean?
When you look at your offer, you’ll see the cost of attendance first. This includes direct costs, such as tuition and fees, that will show up on your student account bill. You’ll also see indirect costs, which represent costs you may incur for things you don’t pay the university, like an allowance for personal expense and transportation.
You’ll also see your student aid index, which is the number we get from your FAFSA that allows us to calculate your financial need.
Next, you’ll see the aid you’ve been offered, split into categories. First, you’ll see gift aid, which is the free money you do not have to repay – these are your grants and scholarships.
If you’re a qualifying Georgia resident, this is where you’ll see your HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarship.
The next section is self-help aid. There you may see something called Federal Work Study, which is an opportunity to work an on campus job to help pay for some of your educational costs..
The last section, also included in self-help aid, includes any federal loans or federal Parent PLUS loans you requested and qualified for.These are loans you will ultimately pay back.
How do you accept or decline your financial aid offer? Can you accept some parts and decline others?
All gift aid is already accepted for you. You don’t have to do anything extra when you log into your portal to accept any grants or scholarships. Self-help aid, including federal work study, and loans – will be posted in ‘offered’ status. You must accept or decline those.
Importantly, you’re also able to reduce the amount of any of the loans that you want to borrow. You want to make sure you’re only borrowing what you need to cover your educational expenses. Do not borrow more than you need! That means if you are offered a $5,000 loan, but you expect you’ll only need $2,000, you can reduce the loan in the portal before you accept it.
Is my financial aid offer renewable?
In order to keep your financial aid, you must complete the FAFSA and the GT App on time every year.
While renewal is not guaranteed and is subject to availability of funds, most offers are renewed for the following year, assuming you maintain all of the eligibility requirements and that your financial need doesn’t change. But the the first step is to complete an updated FAFSA and GT App by January 31.
When does money from my financial aid offer typically show up in my student account (get disbursed)?
The financial aid you see on your financial aid offer is split into two semesters, your fall term and your spring term. We always disburse aid about 10 days prior to the start of class, and that’s where you’ll see the aid that you’re eligible for hit your student account and be applied to your bill.
If I get an outside scholarship, does that impact my financial aid?
First off, congratulations on your scholarship!
Yes, we do need to know about any outside scholarships. The federal government requires that we limit financial aid to the total cost of attendance. If you receive additional scholarships beyond the total cost of attendance, we may be required to adjust the other aid that you’ve been offered. We also have to check that need-based funds do not exceed need, and that the rules are met for any scholarships that are designated for specific charges, like tuition only.
Often the only fund that is impacted is a student loan, so we would be replacing the student loan with free money from your scholarship.
How does a federal loan differ from a private loan? How can I find out more about the differences?
There are several different types of student loans, the first being federal student loans. Federal loans include subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Subsidized student loans do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time. Unsubsidized student loans begin accruing interest when they are disbursed to your student account.
There are also PLUS loans that a parent can borrow. PLUS loans are issued through the federal government, and your parent would need to apply and be approved based on their credit.
Finally, we offer private student loans through private lenders. You have to apply for those on your own and get approval based on your credit score.
You can find more information about all of these loans on our financial aid website.
Can I appeal/Should I appeal my financial aid offer?
Georgia Tech always goes out with our best financial aid offer from the start. There’s no reason to appeal, unless something has significantly changed in your financial situation.
The FAFSA looks at income from two years prior, so if the situation has changed in your family, and the income that was reported on your FAFSA is not reflective of your current financial situation, please reach out to the financial aid office. That way, we can look at doing an appeal based on our professional judgment, and we can make your financial aid offer based on your current financial situation.
What else should I know?
If you’ve received offers across multiple institutions, you want to make sure that you’re comparing the financial aid offers and really looking at the total cost to attend that institution.
The costs of some institutions may be much higher, so you may have a larger financial aid offer at that institution. Keep in mind, though, that it may only cover a part of the total higher cost to attend than your offer at another institution. What matters is how much you will pay, or borrow, after aid is applied, as well as this cost to you relative to the value of the education.
Also keep in mind the out-of-pocket costs of getting to a school that’s further away – airfare to and from home during school breaks, storing or moving your personal belongings, all those costs should be something to consider when you compare financial aid offers.
Lastly, it’s important to remember that this decision is about four-year cost and aid, not just the first year. For this reason, it makes sense to check on what is likely to change and what total out of pocket cost or borrowing is likely to be.
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Understanding financial aid can be a key component to making college affordable. Hopefully, you feel more prepared to evaluate your financial aid offer(s) and make an informed decision about your next steps.
If you have additional questions, good resources may include your school counselor, the financial aid office, and reputable online resources.