How should I compare Georgetown and Boston University after receiving different scholarship offers?

The biggest practical tradeoff is not Georgetown’s higher sticker price versus Boston University’s larger scholarship; it is the four-year amount your family will actually have to pay, including any loans and costs the award letters do not cover. Put both offers into the same one-year worksheet using each school’s official cost of attendance, then subtract only grants and scholarships that do not need to be repaid. Treat federal or private loans, work-study, and parent borrowing as costs or financing methods, not as discounts.

For each college, separate tuition and required fees, housing and food, books, travel between home and campus, health insurance if applicable, and personal expenses. Georgetown’s Washington, D.C. location and BU’s Boston location can both create meaningful transportation and off-campus living differences, so use your own likely travel and housing plans rather than relying only on the estimate. Also check whether either award includes a one-time grant, and whether the school has included an outside scholarship estimate that could change later.

Read the renewal terms closely. Confirm whether BU’s scholarship is guaranteed for four years and whether it requires a particular GPA, full-time enrollment, or participation condition. Ask Georgetown whether its grant is need-based and will be recalculated annually from FAFSA/CSS Profile information, since a change in family income, assets, or a sibling’s college enrollment can affect future aid.

The financially better offer is the one with the lower realistic four-year family cost and less reliance on loans, assuming you would be equally happy attending either school. If BU’s larger scholarship produces a clearly lower, renewable net cost after all expenses, that is a compelling reason to choose BU; if Georgetown’s grant package leaves the gap modest and Georgetown is meaningfully better aligned with your academic and career priorities, the extra cost may be worth considering.