Front-Loading Financial Aid: Watch Out For This Sneaky Trick

Front-loading of financial aid like grants and scholarships is a form of bait-and-switch, where a college gives a better financial aid offer to freshmen than to sophomores, juniors and seniors.

When a college practices front-loading of financial aid, the average grant per recipient decreases after the first year and/or the percentage of students receiving grants decreases.

This means students get smaller grants and/or fewer students get grants. Even if a college keeps the grants unchanged, the net price will increase as college costs increase.

Front-loading of grants causes the mix of grants vs. loans to become less favorable after the freshman year. The family’s share of college costs increases significantly for upperclassmen, even if their ability to pay for college remains unchanged.