Your financial aid award letter shows you the estimated costs for attending Northwestern as well as all financial aid that is available to you that can help with the costs.
Your financial aid award notice shows your financial aid for one academic year, and assumes the student is meeting the requirements each term.
What's offered may change if a student changes their plans (studies abroad, takes a term off, reduces enrollment, etc.) or if their academic progress is no longer satisfactory.
Students apply and are reevaluated for financial aid every year, so the next year's aid notice is not guaranteed to be the same value as this year's.
Total Cost
First, take a look at the top dark purple section. The first line item is the total cost of attending Northwestern for one year.
Scholarships and Grants
Next, you'll see the scholarships and grants that have been awarded to you. The third line item is the net price, which is the difference between the total cost and the scholarships you've been awarded.
Cost of Attendance
Then, your financial aid letter breaks down the Cost of Attendance. The Cost of Attendance includes directly charged costs as well as other indirect costs associated with being a college student. The charges on the left (tuition, fees, housing and meals) will be charged by Northwestern University through the student account. The costs on the right are the indirect or general expenses. Northwestern does not charge these costs directly, but students and families should prepare for these miscellaneous expenses.
Detailed Aid Offer
Finally, the detailed Aid Offer is included in the letter. This is broken down into the three different quarters as well as the different types of aid: gift aid, work study, and loans. Gift aid includes scholarships and grants. These are called "gift aid" because they do not have to be paid back, though there are stipulations for receiving this aid such as enrollment requirements and maintaining satisfactory academic progress. Work-study is an option available to some students in which they can earn some funding through select work-study approved positions. Student loans are financial aid that must be paid back to the lender. The financial aid award notice includes federal loans a student may be eligible for, so students and families are aware of this option.
The net price after scholarships and grants at the top of the page shows you the estimated total out-of-pocket cost for the year. If you plan to use federal student loans, you can also subtract the value of these loans from your net price as the loans will appear on the bill as credit towards the balance due. Divide the net price (total cost minus scholarships, grants, and student loans, if using) by three to get a rough estimate for each term's bill.
Note that fall term tends to have higher out-of-pocket costs as some fees are fall-term only. Also, if you plan to use Northwestern's Student Health Insurance Plan, the cost of this plan will be charged on the fall bill only. The financial aid letter does not always include this cost automatically, so be sure you are including this estimate in your calculations.
Federal Pell Grant: This sample letter includes a Pell Grant, which is a federal grant for students with high financial need. If you qualify for this grant, your aid package will automatically include the Pell Grant.
Federal SEOG Grant: This sample letter includes the Federal SEOG, which is a federal grant for students with high financial need. If you qualify for this grant, your aid package will automatically include the Pell Grant. If your aid package does not include this, then you do not qualify for the SEOG Grant.
Map Grant: This example includes the State of Illinois MAP Grant, which is a grant for high-need students who are residents of Illinois. If you qualify for this grant, your aid package will automatically include the MAP Grant.
Northwestern Scholarship: This is gift aid directly from Northwestern University. This scholarship does not need to be paid back.
If a student qualifies for federal work-study, they will be notified on their financial aid letter like in this example. Federal work-study can be used to help with the costs after scholarships and grants.
The financial aid letter also notifies students of their eligibility for federal student loans. Students are not required to take out these loans. They are optional, and a student and their family can decide if they want to pay for the net price with or without using the student loans available to them.
