Gift aid vs. self-help aid.
In plain English
Financial aid splits into two buckets. Gift aid is money you do not pay back: grants and scholarships, based on need or merit. Self-help aid is aid you earn or repay: student loans, which come with interest, and work-study, which you receive by working a job. The distinction is the fastest way to read an aid offer honestly, because only gift aid actually lowers what college costs you. Self-help aid helps you pay the bill now but either has to be repaid or has to be worked for, so it is not the same as a discount.
01Why it matters
Sorting an aid package into gift versus self-help instantly shows how much is truly free money versus loans and work, which is the honest way to judge how affordable a school's offer really is.
02The math, step by step
An offer includes a grant, a scholarship, a loan, and work-study. The grant and scholarship are gift aid that cut the real cost. The loan is self-help you repay with interest, and work-study is self-help you earn by working, so neither lowers the underlying price the way the grant does.
03What this is NOT
It is not all the same. Gift aid lowers your cost outright; self-help aid must be repaid or worked for. Adding them into one aid total hides how much of a package is actually free versus borrowed.
04Receipts
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