Comparing aid offers that arrived late

When offers arrive weeks before a commitment deadline, the temptation is to compare headline numbers and move on. Take the extra hour anyway.

Strip each offer to grants and scholarships only, subtract that from full cost of attendance, and compare the remainder. Loans and work-study are not aid in the sense that matters for this calculation.

Then check what's renewable. An offer that's larger in year one but non-renewable can cost far more across four years than a smaller guaranteed one.