Financial Aid Packages & Interpreting the Award Letter

All students who apply for financial aid are given an aid package. For those who qualify for need-based aid, the financial aid package usually consists of a grant or scholarship, a student loan, and student employment. For students who do not qualify for need-based aid, they still receive an offer of work and a non-need based student loan such as a SELF Loan.

The grant aid can be Pell grants, SEOG (Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant), or Minnesota State grants if the student qualifies for this type of aid. In addition, most need-based packages contain a portion as Carleton gift aid. This may be in the form of a Carleton grant or one of many different Carleton scholarships. Students do not apply specifically for these scholarships; rather, they are awarded based on information they provide in the Carleton College Financial Aid Application. Similar to grants, most of these scholarships are used to meet the need of students. The student employment amount is usually based on 8 hours per week for first-year students and 10 hours per week for returning students. The loan amounts vary by grade, typically increasing as the student nears graduation.

Whenever a financial aid package is completed or modified, an award letter is sent to the student. Each student is sent two award letters; one should be signed and returned to Student Financial Services. This must be done to accept and finalize the award. The second copy should be retained by the student for their records. The first section of the award letter shows the estimated costs for the year, and breaks the costs apart into the direct costs (tuition, fees, and room and board), which students are billed for, and the indirect costs (personal expenses, books and supplies, travel expenses, and loan fees, if appropriate) which the student is not charged for by the College, but are expenses that may occur through the year.

The next section of the award letter indicates the financial aid awarded. This shows each type of aid, the amount, and the expected disbursements for each term of the year. The awards are then totaled. The amount credited to your account is calculated by taking the total financial aid minus student employment, since student employment is not automatically applied to the student account like the other forms of aid. The direct cost minus the amount to be credited to your account is calculated and shown as the estimated balance the student and family would be responsible for. Review this figure carefully, as it is often misinterpreted. If the student decides to credit some or all of their work earnings towards their account, the estimated balance will be lower. Many students do apply some or all of their work earnings towards their bill; this option is determined by the student and is done through the payroll office, not on the aid award.

The award may be changed if the Student Financial Services Office acquires new information. When this happens, the student is notified of the change(s) and may view the new award by visiting The Hub. The reason the award is changed most frequently is when the student receives a scholarship from an outside source. The outside aid is used to first reduce the student loan portion of the award, then student employment. If more aid is received than those two categories, the grant aid may be reduced to stay within federal guidelines and a student’s established need.