If your child has applied for financial aid at the schools where he/she has been accepted, the next step is to find out how much aid the school is offering. Starting as early as March, award letters will begin arriving. How much financial support the school is willing to provide is itemized in these letters. The aid offered can range from scholarships and grants to work-study and loans.

Evaluating award letters is serious business. The first award letter you accept could lay the ground work for how much money your child will be offered in future years. A hasty decision now could be costly.