Piecing together the puzzle of college financial aid

There's been a lot of drama this spring for families seeking college financial aid.

The trouble stems from a revamp of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), where changes and technology glitches have been an ongoing source of frustration for families.

The federal government, meanwhile, was significantly delayed in relaying data collected on the new form to schools, which means many colleges and universities have been scrambling to send financial aid packages. May 1 is typically the primary decision date for students to accept an offer of admission, but many schools have pushed deadlines to mid-May or the beginning of June.

If students don't yet have all the information they need to make a decision, they should reach out to admissions offices and ask for further extensions, said BG Tucker, senior director of programs for College Possible Minnesota, which helps students from underinvested communities access higher education.

Financial aid offers are now arriving and that means families will need smart strategies for quickly making comparisons between what different schools are offering, a task that can be difficult even in a normal year when there's less time pressure.

"The No. 1 thing that's challenging is that the letters are complex," Tucker said. "Every letter looks different. The format is different. How schools talk about when they are awarding the money — whether it's on a semester basis or a quarter basis or an annual basis — is confusing.

"And so families really need to understand what they're looking for in a letter."

Here's what you need to know about comparing financial aid offers during this unusually difficult season for picking between schools.

Financial aid offers typically come in letters that span one to three pages.

Experts recommend families first zero in on a section of these letters called the cost of attendance (COA). This sum is typically broken down into two parts: direct costs paid to the college (for tuition and fees, room and board) and indirect costs (like travel, books and incidentals). With the possible exception of book expenses, indirect costs don't go directly to the school. Even so, colleges and universities usually include an estimate for these expenses and build financial aid packages with these costs in mind.

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