npr:

McKenna Hensley got into 10 colleges — each with their own distinctive financial aid offer. “It was very confusing,” she says. “It makes a difference when you’re paying yourself. You have to be extra careful.”

The problems?

1. There is a lot of jargon and terminology. Researchers found colleges referred to one loan 136 different ways in their financial aid letters. Some colleges didn’t even use the the word “loan” when referring to it.

2. More than a third of the schools didn’t include how much it would cost to attend. They often only included how much the student was awarded. 

3. Seventy percent of offers put all the aid together, so it felt like one big gift. That aid included money from loans, even though students would have to pay that money back. 

Confused By Your College Financial Aid Letter? You’re Not Alone

Photos by Elissa Nadworny/NPR