Longer reads

Guides

Six guides that work whoever is paying: reading and comparing offers, a year of dates, essays, how awards stack, and asking for more.

Guide01

Reading an aid offer line by line

Each line of an aid offer comes from a different source and follows that source's rules, so read the lines one at a time.

4 min read

Guide02

Two offers with different labels line up once you sort every line by who pays it and how long it lasts.

4 min read

Guide03

Federal, state, college and private money each keep their own calendar, and several key dates fall in the fall and winter.

4 min read

Guide04

A scholarship essay works when it answers the sponsor's question with specific moments from your own life, told in plain sentences.

4 min read

Guide05

Federal, state, college and private awards add up under two limits, and the order in which they arrive can change the total.

4 min read

Guide06

An aid offer can be reviewed when your situation has changed, and knowing which office controls each line tells you where to ask.

4 min read