How can I compare Emory and WashU net cost after financial aid?

Compare Emory and WashU by building a four-year, out-of-pocket budget from each official aid offer, not by comparing the headline scholarship or grant total. At both schools, grants and scholarships reduce what your family must pay; federal loans and work-study do not reduce the bill in the same way. Separate billed charges, such as tuition, housing, food, and required fees, from indirect costs such as books, travel, personal spending, and health insurance.

Use Emory’s published cost of attendance and your exact housing and meal-plan selection, then add your likely trips home, local transportation, books, and any required insurance cost. Check whether every Emory grant is renewable and whether renewal depends on maintaining a particular enrollment status, academic standard, or housing arrangement.

Treat any work-study amount as potential earnings paid over time, not money automatically credited against the semester bill. Likewise, list federal Direct Loans separately, since they create repayment obligations even when they make the immediate bill look lower.

For each college, calculate: total annual billed charges minus only grants, scholarships, and family-paid savings. Then add estimated indirect costs and subtract only the work-study earnings you realistically expect to earn. Ask each financial-aid office whether institutional aid rises when tuition and housing prices rise, whether outside scholarships replace grants or loans, and what happens if family finances change.

Multiply a conservative annual estimate by four, allowing for modest cost increases and changes in housing.