Caveat College · Paying for College · Free tool

What your aid letter
really says.

Paste a financial aid offer. We sort every line into free money, loans and work-study, then show the real cost, the bill and the gap, with each term in plain words.

Decode a letterLoad the example

Decode one offer

Paste the letter, check how each line was read, and get the real cost in plain numbers. Every figure stays in this browser.

Loading the interpreter. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript or try another browser.

The words on the letter

Colleges use different names for the same things. These are the meanings that matter.

Cost of attendance (COA)

The college's estimate of a full year: tuition and fees, housing and food, books, travel and personal costs. Some of it is billed, some you spend yourself.

Net price

The cost of attendance minus grants and scholarships. The honest number to compare between colleges, because loans and work-study still cost you.

Student Aid Index (SAI)

The FAFSA's measure of how much a family can put toward college. Colleges use it to set need-based aid. It can be negative. It is not a bill.

Grant or scholarship

Money you do not repay. Need-based grants depend on the FAFSA; merit scholarships on grades, talent or other criteria. Renewal rules vary.

Subsidized vs. unsubsidized

Both are federal Direct Loans to the student. On subsidized loans the government pays the interest during school; on unsubsidized loans interest builds from day one.

Parent PLUS

A federal loan the parent takes out, with a credit check and a higher rate. The student is not legally responsible for it.

Private loan

From a bank or other lender. Rates can be variable and depend on credit; it lacks federal repayment options. Usually the last place to borrow.

Work-study

Permission to earn up to an amount from a part-time job, often on campus. Paid as wages during the year, so it cannot pay the first bill.

Unmet need, or the gap

What is left after all aid in the offer. Families cover it from savings, income, payment plans or more loans. Many letters do not show it.

Origination fee

A percentage taken from each federal loan payout before you get it. You repay the full amount borrowed.

What this resource is

Aid offers have no standard format, and many add loans into "total aid". This tool reads the letter line by line so you can see what is free, what is borrowed and what is still left to pay.

Part of College · Paying for College in the Caveat Suite

Decode your letter
Outcome
One aid offer, sorted into free money, loans and work-study, with the net price, the bill, the gap and the loan payments it implies.
Who it is for
Families and students holding a college financial aid offer, and the counselors and tutors who help them read it.
Format
A browser tool. Paste text or enter lines; print the reading, download a spreadsheet, or save a file to reopen later.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-up. Nothing you paste leaves this browser.
Time
About 5 minutes per letter.
Space
College · Paying for College primary space
Support
Questions or a problem with this tool: team@caveatacademic.com

Sources

  • Federal Student Aid, subsidized and unsubsidized loans and annual loan limits: studentaid.gov
  • Federal Student Aid, interest rates and fees (2025-26 undergraduate Direct Loans 6.39%, PLUS 8.94%): studentaid.gov
  • Federal Student Aid, Pell Grants (maximum $7,395 for 2024-25 through 2026-27), FSEOG, TEACH Grants and Federal Work-Study: studentaid.gov
  • Federal Student Aid, Parent PLUS loans, and the Student Aid Index that replaced the Expected Family Contribution in 2024-25: studentaid.gov
  • Public Law 119-21 (2025), which limits new Parent PLUS borrowing from July 1, 2026 to $20,000 a year and $65,000 per student, with transition rules; how it applies to a family is for the college's aid office to confirm.
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, guidance on reading college financial aid offers: consumerfinance.gov

General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Federal limits and rates change; check studentaid.gov and the college's aid office before you accept or decline any part of an offer. Northfield College and its offer are made up for the example; the dollar figures are examples. The repayment figures are estimates on a standard 10-year schedule.