How should I compare financial aid offers from Boston University and WashU?

Treat the offer with the lower guaranteed four-year net cost as the more affordable choice, not the one showing the lower “expected family contribution” or the larger headline aid total. Neither school’s work-study award should be counted as money that automatically reduces your bill.

Start with each school’s direct annual bill: tuition and fees, housing, food, and required health insurance if applicable. Subtract only grants and scholarships that do not need repayment. Then compare the remaining amount your family would actually need to pay, finance, or cover through income. Do not treat Parent PLUS loans, private loans, or a suggested family contribution as financial aid; they are ways to cover the gap.

Separate loans from grants line by line. Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans carry repayment obligations, and a package that looks only slightly cheaper today can become materially more expensive after interest. Work-study is an opportunity to earn wages through an eligible campus job; it is not usually credited in full to the student account upfront, and earnings depend on finding and working the job.

Check whether each grant is renewable for four years and what conditions apply. Confirm the required enrollment status, academic requirements, whether need-based aid is recalculated annually, and how each school handles tuition, housing, and meal-plan increases.

Finally, compare the two schools’ appeals process if the packages leave a meaningful gap. Send each financial-aid office the other school’s award letter, a concise explanation of your family’s actual constraints, and documentation of changed circumstances such as income loss, unusual medical expenses, or obligations not reflected on aid forms. Ask for a review of grant aid specifically, rather than simply asking them to “match” the other offer.