(Excluding the index-only offerings, the average expense ratio is 0.81 percent) The report awards letter grades to more than 40 fund series, based on five criteria that are weighted differently: Performance over the prior three years (30 percent), risk (25 percent), fees (20 percent), strategy (15 percent) and an analysis of the fund's parent company/organization (10 percent).
FinAid.org offers more information about the evaluation of award letters and links to tools to help facilitate the comparisons.
Colleges vary not only in the construction of their financial aid award letters but also in other financial aid practices.
The goal, Mr. Goggin said, is for the tools to be approachable and accurate, for a calculator's output to line up with actual financial aid award letters.
Assistants must make the same change on all standard contracts, time sheets, grant award letters and other documents that come out of his office and carry his name.
To help make sense of it all, we've asked two experts — Zac Bissonnette, author of "Debt-Free U.," and Kalman A. Chany, author of "Paying for College Without Going Broke," to offer some advice on comparing award letters.
By entering data from the schools' financial award letters — including expected family contributions and military benefits, if applicable — students will be able to have a more realistic look at their college options, financially speaking.
The family, who provided a copy of the package to The New York Times on condition of anonymity, is one of roughly two dozen who have received the fund's first award letters in the last couple of weeks.
In this final installment of answers, Ms. Perna responds to questions about understanding financial aid award letters, eligibility for in-state tuition, scholarships for students with undeclared majors, and the benefits (and consequences) of enrolling part time in a pay-as-you-go approach to college.
Many colleges misrepresent loans as grants in their award letters.
