{"id":27360,"date":"2026-04-08T00:57:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T00:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=27360"},"modified":"2026-04-08T00:57:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T00:57:03","slug":"national-college-decision-day-how-to-maximize-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=27360","title":{"rendered":"National College Decision Day: How to maximize aid"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"RegularArticle-ArticleBody-5\" data-module=\"ArticleBody\" data-test=\"articleBody-2\" data-analytics=\"RegularArticle-articleBody-5-2\"><span class=\"HighlightShare-hidden\" style=\"top:0;left:0\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"InlineImage-imageEmbed\" id=\"ArticleBody-InlineImage-102477363\" data-test=\"InlineImage\">\n<div class=\"InlineImage-wrapper\">\n<div>\n<p>Students at Stanford University in California.<\/p>\n<p>Erin Lubin | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>In the weeks leading up to National College Decision Day on May 1, students will weigh the pros and cons of each school. But the deciding factor often comes down to cost. <\/p>\n<p>For a majority of college hopefuls and their families, the\u00a0financial aid offer\u00a0is key in choosing where to attend and how to cover the tab. The total amount of aid matters, as does the breakdown between grants, scholarships and\u00a0student loans.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Right now, the focus should be on understanding how much of the package is free money like grants and scholarships, how much may need to be borrowed, and what that borrowing could mean for your budget over time,&#8221; said Katarina Ellison, a spokesperson for education lender Sallie Mae.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-relatedContent\" id=\"RegularArticle-RelatedContent-1\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-container\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-nonCollapsibleContent\">\n<h2 class=\"RelatedContent-header\">Read more CNBC personal finance coverage<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<ul>\n<li>Average tax refund is up $350 compared to last year as IRS deadline nears<\/li>\n<li>Robinhood, BNY to build Trump accounts app<\/li>\n<li>New college grads face a tough job market \u2014 why unemployment hits them harder<\/li>\n<li>AI has a big problem when it comes to financial advice, MIT professor says<\/li>\n<li>Older Americans can find free tax filing help as big changes hit this season<\/li>\n<li>As 401(k) balances swell, financial experts warn of retirement planning pitfalls<\/li>\n<li>Teen sports betting raises concerns in schools, and a financial literacy push<\/li>\n<li>Market volatility poses a serious risk for new retirees. Here&#8217;s how to prepare<\/li>\n<li>Trump&#8217;s overtime deduction is a &#8216;home run,&#8217; Treasury says. How it could change<\/li>\n<li>Stock market is in for &#8216;choppy, bumpy ride,&#8217; strategist says. Here&#8217;s how to play it<\/li>\n<li>Parents with student loans have limited time to secure forgiveness, affordable bills<\/li>\n<li>Social Security needs more money. The question is, who will pay?<\/li>\n<li>Should you &#8216;buy the dip&#8217; amid the latest stock market volatility? What experts say<\/li>\n<li>Boston Fed: Credit card APRs have &#8216;economically meaningful&#8217; impact on spending<\/li>\n<li>CNBC&#8217;s Financial Advisor 100: Best financial advisors, top firms ranked<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Over the years, there has been a slow shift to a &#8220;high-tuition, high-aid&#8221; model, where colleges both raise tuition and increase grant aid, according to Emily Cook, an assistant professor of economics at Texas A&amp;M University.<\/p>\n<p>Now, about two-thirds of full-time students receive some sort of financial assistance, which can bring college costs significantly down.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bigfuture.collegeboard.org\/pay-for-college\/paying-your-share\/focus-on-net-price-not-sticker-price\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">net price<\/a>\u00a0students and their families will pay for college is the tuition cost minus grants, scholarships and other types of aid.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The biggest challenge is that there&#8217;s no single format for financial aid offers, so families often end up comparing apples to oranges,&#8221; Ellison said. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;One school may clearly separate grants, scholarships, and loans, while another bundles everything together,&#8221; she added. &#8220;A good place to start is understanding what&#8217;s free money and what will need to be paid back.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a id=\"headline0\"><\/a>How to compare college aid offers<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>The strongest offers include more free money \u2014 like scholarships and grants \u2014 and fewer loans, experts said. <\/p>\n<p>But even with gift aid, it&#8217;s important to distinguish whether a grant is renewable for all four years or if a minimum grade point average must be maintained, according to Kalman Chany, a financial aid consultant and author of The Princeton Review&#8217;s &#8220;Paying for College.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>When it comes to loans, new borrowing limits for 2026 under President\u00a0Donald Trump&#8217;s &#8220;big beautiful bill&#8221; should be another factor.\u00a0&#8220;The conventional wisdom is to exhaust the federal options first \u2014 you need to be more savvy about that,&#8221; Chany said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Borrowing should be a last resort, but if it&#8217;s part of the mix, it&#8217;s important to understand the difference between federal and private loans and what repayment will look like after graduation,&#8221; Ellison also said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a id=\"headline1\"><\/a>How to boost your college aid<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>It is possible to ask the college financial aid office for more aid, especially if your financial circumstances have changed or if the financial aid offer from a comparable school was better, the experts said.<\/p>\n<p>To appeal your college aid offer, document any changes in assets, income, benefits or expenses \u2014 or note the offers from other schools. <\/p>\n<p>However, need-based aid may be determined solely on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA,\u00a0so there is less wiggle room to negotiate. &#8220;You might not get any more money,&#8221; Chany said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108252598\">\n<div role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108252598\" class=\"PlaceHolder-wrapper\" data-vilynx-id=\"7000400984\" data-test=\"VideoPlaceHolder\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-videoEmbed\" id=\"InlineVideo-0\" data-test=\"InlineVideo\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-inlineThumbnailContainer\"><span class=\"InlineVideo-videoButton\"><\/span><span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>For families who still need to bridge the gap, there are also many private scholarships and fellowships available, often funded by foundations, corporations and other independent organizations.<\/p>\n<p>Use artificial intelligence\u00a0to find alternative sources for\u00a0merit-based aid, advised James Lewis, co-founder of the National Society of High School Scholars, an academic honor society.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a way of identifying opportunities and instead of using an informal network, they can look at everything,&#8221; Lewis said. &#8220;It&#8217;s going to raise the success rate of matching great students with organizations that are sponsoring them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, &#8220;the sticker cost is daunting,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You should dream big and then look through the process of how can I pay through outside scholarships or fellowships.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re pursuing these options, just check to make sure your college of choice doesn&#8217;t have a so-called\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/finaid.org\/scholarships\/scholarship_displacement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">displacement policy<\/a>, which could mean private scholarships will reduce other sources of aid.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/CNBC?sub_confirmation=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ArticleBody-googlePreferredSourceContainer\" data-module=\"GooglePreferredSource\" data-id=\"RegularArticle-GooglePreferredSource-5\">Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/04\/07\/national-college-decision-day-how-to-maximize-aid.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Students at Stanford University in California. Erin Lubin | Bloomberg | Getty Images In the weeks leading up to National College Decision Day on May 1, students will weigh the pros and cons of each school. But the deciding factor often comes down to cost. For a majority of college hopefuls and their families, the\u00a0financial<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[196],"tags":[1543,436,811,456,1429,1345],"class_list":{"0":"post-27360","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-finance-news","8":"tag-aid","9":"tag-college","10":"tag-day","11":"tag-decision","12":"tag-maximize","13":"tag-national"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}