How are you feeling?
Brain break
Three short labs
- Read the real price Predict the net price of a letter, then see which lines were financing in disguise.
- Three letters, one table Compare three offers — the biggest “aid” headline is often the most expensive school.
- What a loan really costs A loan pays back more than you borrow. See the monthly payment and the interest on top.
Who you’ll meet — the ideas in play 6
- Sticker — the big price the letter leads with — and why it isn’t the real one
- Net — the true cost of a year: sticker minus gift aid only
- Grant — money you keep — need-based gift aid that actually lowers the price
- Note — money you owe — a loan dressed up as “aid,” repaid with interest
- Index — the number the form uses to decide what your family can pay
- Elder Adaeze — the aid officer — tells you plainly what the letter won’t say
How it works
Every award letter mixes two kinds of money. Gift aid — grants and scholarships — is money you keep, and it’s the only thing that lowers the price. Self-help — loans and work-study — is money you repay or earn; letters print it alongside gift aid and call the whole stack “your aid” so the offer looks bigger.
The one number to trust is the net price: cost of attendance minus gift aid. Compare offers by net price, never by the advertised headline — and count a loan’s true cost (principal plus years of interest) before you sign. Community college, transfer, and apprenticeships are first-class paths, not fallbacks.
What next? Pick a door
- More like this LedgerQuest Which money decision would you make? CommonForge Who owns this knowledge? ArchiveQuest What can this source really tell us?
- Something different FeelDojo Does this answer you, or bait you? DamaDojo Where is the flying king’s capture? Proof Sweeper Can you prove this square is safe?