National University Decision Day: How to make the most of your aid

In the weeks leading up to National University Decision Day on May 1st, students will be weighing the pros and cons of each school. However, cost is often the deciding factor.

For the majority of college applicants and their families, financial aid options are important in choosing where to attend and how to finance their education. The total amount of aid is important, as is the breakdown of grants, scholarships, and student loans.

“Right now, the focus should be on understanding how much of your package is free money like grants and scholarships, how much you will need to borrow, and how that borrowing will affect your budget over the long term,” said Katarina Ellison, a spokeswoman for education lender Sallie Mae.

Emily Cook, an assistant professor of economics at Texas A&M University, said there has been a slow shift in recent years to a “high-tuition, high-aid” model in which universities raise tuition and increase grant aid.

Currently, about two-thirds of full-time students receive some type of financial aid, which can significantly reduce the cost of college.

The net price students and their families pay for college is tuition less grants, scholarships, and other aid.

“The biggest challenge is that there is no single format for financial aid offers, so families often end up comparing apples to oranges,” Ellison says.

“One school may have a clear separation between grants, scholarships and loans, while another may lump everything together,” she added. “A good place to start is to understand what free money is and what needs to be paid back.”

Experts say the strongest offers include increases in free funds, such as scholarships and grants, and reductions in loans.

But even if it’s an endowment, it’s important to distinguish whether the grant is renewable for all four years or whether it requires you to maintain a minimum grade point average, said Kalman Chaney, a financial aid consultant and author of the Princeton Review’s “Paying for College.”

When it comes to lending, new borrowing limits in 2026 under President Donald Trump’s “Big and Beautiful Bill” should be another factor. “Conventional wisdom is that you exhaust your federal options first. We need to be more savvy about that,” Chaney said.

“Debt should be a last resort, but if it’s part of your options, it’s important to understand the difference between federal and private loans and what repayments will look like after graduation,” Ellison added.

Experts say it’s also possible to ask your college’s financial aid office for more help, especially if your financial situation has changed or if you had a better financial aid offer from a comparable school.

To dispute a college aid offer, document changes in assets, income, benefits, expenses, or note offers from other schools.

However, need-based aid is determined solely on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), so there is less room for negotiation. “I might not get any more money,” Chaney said.

For families who still need to fill gaps, private scholarships and fellowships are also available, often funded by foundations, corporations, and other independent organizations.

James Lewis, co-founder of the National High School Scholars Association, an academic honors society, advised using artificial intelligence to find alternative sources of merit-based aid.

“It’s a way to identify opportunities, and instead of using informal networks, you can look at everything,” Lewis said. “It will increase the success rate of matching talented students with organizations that sponsor them.”

Indeed, “the cost of the sticker would be mind-boggling,” he says. “You need to dream big and then consider how you can pay for it through external scholarships and fellowships.”

If you are pursuing these options, make sure your chosen university does not have a so-called expulsion policy. This could mean that private scholarships reduce other sources of aid.

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