New Financial Aid Shopping Sheet from Obama Administration

The Obama Administration today released the final version of the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet—an individualized standard financial aid award letter that will help students and families understand the costs of college before making the final decision on where to enroll.

The Shopping Sheet is the culmination of a joint effort between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education to provide individuals with critical information about their financial decision to attend college in a clear, concise, and standardized format that facilitates easy comparisons across institutions.


The Shopping Sheet will standardize award letters, making it easier to comparison shop and provide students with key information including:

• How much one year of school will cost;
• Financial aid options to pay this cost, with a clear differentiation between grants and scholarships, which do not have to be repaid, and loans, which do;
• The net costs after grants and scholarships are taken into account;
• Vital information about student results, including comparative information about default rates, graduation rates, and median debt levels for the school;
• And potential monthly payments for the federal student loans the typical student would owes after graduation.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sent an open letter to college and university presidents, asking them to adopt the Shopping Sheet as part of their financial aid awards starting in the 2013-14 school year.

A sample of the Shopping Sheet can be viewed at http://collegecost.ed.gov/shopping_sheet.pdf