Your Earlham Award Notification

How to Understand and Respond to Your Award Notification

1. First, check to see if it’s an estimated aid award, or an actual award notification. If it’s an estimated aid award, there will be a list of materials you need to mail to our Financial Aid Office so that we can verify your aid eligibility. Please mail the requested documentation as soon as possible. If it is an actual award, it will say “Award Notification” at the top of the letter, and enclosures will accompany the letter.

2. Read the entire Award Notification letter carefully. Then read the pamphlet Earlham College Terms & Conditions of Financial Aid. This pamphlet explains the funds you have been awarded, and outlines other important information about your aid.

3. If you have questions about your aid after you have read Terms & Conditions, please feel free to contact our office. It is not Earlham’s policy to negotiate need-based aid awards. However, if you feel that we have missed some important aspect of your financial situation, please let us know as soon as possible. If you have questions about merit-based aid, please contact Admissions.

4. Carefully compare your Earlham aid package and your own resources against your college costs. If you determine there are costs beyond your own resources and the Earlham aid, consider your options for paying that balance. At Earlham there are parent loans and different payment plans available which may help make Earlham affordable. These options are outlined in a chart included in the Planning section of this guide.

5. Return the Financial Aid Update Form to the Financial Aid Office if you wish to decline or reduce your student loans, or to update us about any other information. We assume that you accept all forms of aid offered to you unless we are notified, in writing, to the contrary.

6. Parents: If you have decided you would like to borrow through the PLUS Loan program, you must complete the PLUS Loan Request Form included with the student’s Award Notification, and return it to the Financial Aid Office.

These steps are separate from the Admissions Confirmation process. Even if you have sent in your Confirmation Card to Admissions, these steps need to be completed in the Financial Aid Office.

Your Responsibilities Include:

• Notifying the Financial Aid Office if you receive any outside scholarships which do not appear on your award notification.

• Responding. If we mail a request for information or documentation, it is because we need the information for a federal, state, or institutional requirement.

• Reading all materials (even the fine print). This may take some extra time, but it will ward off surprises. This means really READ your aid award, Terms & Conditions, loan information and promissory notes, etc. It is always wise to read anything you sign, and Financial Aid is no exception to this rule.