On Memorial Day my husband was thanked everywhere he went for his service. Yesterday on the Fourth of July he was thanked again, everywhere he went, for his service. Even on Labor Day last year he was lauded and praised.

Are we the only military family that is slightly irritated and perhaps appalled by how little Americans know about their own holidays?

Sure, my husband appreciates being thanked when he wears his Iraq Veteran hat. But it makes him more than a little uncomfortable when people are focused on him during Memorial Day weekend and not on honoring those who died in service to their nation.

It also makes him a lot uncomfortable when people spend that weekend focused solely on barbecue, storewide sales and drinking and never once head out to a veteran’s cemetery to raise flags or participate in a Memorial Day ceremony, but that’s another blog. 

Yesterday he was thanked again. But the 4^th of July isn’t about veterans. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence.

In my husband’s mind this day represents our ability to come together as a nation and fight for the freedoms that he has sworn to fight for today. It is about the birth of our nation, not soldiers.

And Labor Day, that isn’t about the military either. It was intended to honor all of us. The day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19^th century and was designated a federal holiday by Grover Cleveland in 1894.

Thank your veterans, yes, absolutely. But maybe the biggest thanks you can give them is to participate fully in the American experience that they have fought dearly and lost much to protect for you.

Celebrate American holidays. Vote. Volunteer. And above all else, appreciate this nation and care for it with as much vigor and love as they have. 

By Amy Nielsen

My husband and I are on the fence about maybe going on the road with our rv and road-schooling our kids while we both finish our degrees and licensure over the next couple years.

He finally comes to a point where he can retire from government service but still has a couple years left on his degree, while I have another year in this program and then a year of internship hours to complete before I sit for my license.

My program is mostly online with a few on campus classes. One of those on campus classes, that meets every three, has regularly scheduled quizzes. In between we have online assignments to complete. Like most professors, this one recycles the same class materials semester after semester so the majority of the course is already laid out. However, having a live component means this class has more flexibility than those taught solely online. The professor has just assigned us a pop quiz as punishment for not paying attention in class.

Although I am a student, I am also an adult and pop quizzes make me craycray. This is a master’s program not sixth grade. Not only do I expect my fellow students to act like it, I expect my professors to act like it too. If a segment of the student population is not doing the work, then it behooves the professor to take it up with them, not pop a quiz on the whole class on a holiday week.

So now that my delightful professor has decided to add a pop quiz to our line-up, due no less at midnight on July 4^th, my holiday week schedule has gone from mildly invigorating to downright insane. I already have a plan in place to cope with my online classes and homework for this week, as we knew we wouldn’t have the week off for vacation. What I wasn’t planning was spending the extra hours studying for this quiz on top of it all. And - it all - is a whole lot this time around.

We - as a family - are still in the reunification process post military retirement. It’s kind of like the mother of all post deployment re-integrations that no one bothers to tell you about. Pictures of post retirement reunification time are all smiles, vacations, and gardens. It’s more akin to that oh so fun postpartum period they gloss over with smiling babies, only longer.

It’s been five years and I finally feel like we are sort of now living in the same household, though he still works an odd hours government job and the shifting schedule has made the reintegration slower. Part of the drive to go tiny and mobile is to allow us the chance to be inseparable for the first time in our lives. Inseparable is inconceivable to most military spouses. We just never get the chance to even try it out.

Like many families, the week of Independence Day is one I like to take as vacation. Every year, the first week of July, a conference is held that hosts both medical professionals and families living with my daughter’s rare condition. This year, with the actual holiday falling on a Wednesday, we finally have my husband’s work schedule sorted out so that we can all go. We have not yet been to this convention as it travels around the country and is always on the opposite side of the country from where we happen to be stationed. Now that we are retired and stationary, the conference location cycle has finally come around to hosting it in a city local enough that we can attend.

My school doesn’t recognize this week as a holiday week. We run on a trimester schedule. We take a month off in January and August. So I have a full course load of work to complete this week. It is also midterm and we are deep in the weeds on our projects. I travel a lot already. I live in the northeast and my school is in the mid-atlantic. I travel to campus regularly for classes. I travel to symposium, gatherings, and lectures that pertain to my area of interest. I also travel a lot for fun. I always have. Working on the road, even with my kids in tow is not new to me.

I have it all planned. While driving out, my husband and I can swap the task while the other reads papers, books, or listens to lectures. Then when we get to the conference, I could do early morning school as I do at home, while he takes late nights. That way we will have one parent available to go to the daily classes, panel discussions, group meet-ups, and fun activities planned with our kids. Being the tenth year, this conference is so big it burst the hotel and they had to close registration. It is going to be epic!

Two weeks ago the bricks started raining. Our kennel called to say that they had a family emergency and were going to be closing the kennel for the summer. So we scrambled to find a place to care for our pup while we were away. We found a solution, but it certainly wouldn’t be ideal. But we got it covered.

Then the RV got a flat in the driveway. Do you know how hard it is to get an RV towed out of a steep single lane gravel driveway? A slight financial panic and the grace of a neighbor with a heavy duty air compressor and we got that one solved.

As would happen, seeing as he is still a government employee, my husband’s schedule got shifted due to budget constraints. So he is now going to be staying home. The kennel situation got better but the parenting divide got exponentially greater.

Driving out and back is not an issue. I drive the same distance regularly. The school work on top of the fun isn’t really an issue. My professor can bite it, for sure, but I’ll cram it into my planning. The kennel closing wasn’t even the straw; heck, we’d just take the pup with us and figure it out – Semper Gumby!

What hurts is not having my husband with us for the experience, again. To not share, again. That even though he is retired, and family separation is supposed to be over, he is not here, again. To have the universe conspire so neatly. Every. Single. Time.

Midterm elections are coming. That means political campaigns need workers, lots of them. And a fast-paced, never-ending push to Election Day could easily fill your resume with praise.

Job-finding sites like Indeed.com and Monster.com have a plethora of campaign job listings. The best of those positions are paid well. Most, however, are volunteer work or if they are paid, are lower level jobs that require a lot of hours hoofing it around neighborhoods or cold calling voters.

Still, a political campaign is a great way to fill your resume. This work takes dedication and attention to detail. Since campaign work can be filled with a who’s who of local celebrities, serving with a campaign can also be an excellent way to network for your next job.

And, if you catch the bug to continue working in politics after the election, you can attend a campaign training session to better prepare you for the next round of elections and even score a paying gig.

The Campaign Workshop, which specializes in campaign and advocacy training, is a great place to start your search for campaign training. Their website, www.thecampaignworkshop.com outlines the cost and location of some of the best campaign training programs in the nation.

Also, check with your local university. Many public affairs schools offer seminars and lecture series to help you kick start your political campaign career.

Summer is the season of goodbyes and new beginnings as many military families PCS. It is also the season of retirement and a glimpse into the unknown.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation hosts dozens of hiring fairs for military members and their spouses around the country each month. But, the group also holds events for military families preparing to step into the civilian job force and leave the uniform behind.

The foundation has begun hosting two events that go above and beyond the call of duty. First, the free transition summit not only helps to connect veterans and spouses with employers, the day of workshops and trainings can help you get honest answers from hiring managers, craft your resume and learn to use digital mediums to find employment.

The schedule for the day at each of these events includes:

• Explore specific industries and career paths via industry workshops
• Get expert answers to your transition questions during an interactive panel with current recruiters and hiring managers
• Hear tips on creating a professional resume in less than an hour using digital tools like Resume Engine and expanding your network through LinkedIn
• Start building your professional network by connecting with local and national veteran-ready employers at a hiring fair

This event is free and is open to active duty service members, Guard and Reserve, veterans, and military spouses. 

Next, the foundation also hosts military spouse hiring receptions. Ever wonder how to kick start your networking skills? This is the place to do it.

The event description is:

Join Hiring Our Heroes and Military Corps Career Connect (C3) to learn more about the Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program in partnership with C3 while building your professional network as you interact with dozens of companies at the Military Spouse Hiring Reception. Connect directly with local organizations offering six week paid fellowship opportunities as well as HR experts and hiring managers from local and national companies, hear from the C3 team about free training and certification opportunities, and engage with valuable contacts including recruiters, community leaders, local professionals, and senior military spouses. You'll also have the opportunity receive resume guidance, plus get a free professional LinkedIn profile image. 

This event is free and is open to all military, veteran, and Gold Star spouses, as well as employers and service organizations. Service members and veterans are also welcome.

The U.S. Chamber Foundation hosts as many of these events as possible in locations around the nation each month. Below find the schedule for events coming in July. For a list of all events for 2018 visit www.uschamberfoundation.org

Visit the event links to register. Most of these sessions fill quickly so grab your spot and wow the crowds. Your perfect job is waiting for you! 

July 11

Florida

Naval Air Station Pensacola Transition Summit

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/naval-air-station-pensacola-transition-summit

July 12

Florida

Eglin Air Force Base Transition Summit

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/eglin-air-force-base-transition-summit

New Jersey

Military Spouse Employment Forum, Joint Base McGuire-Dix, Lakehurst, N.J.

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/military-spouse-employment-forum-joint-base-mcguire-dix-lakehurst

Virginia

Herndon Military Hiring Fair

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/herndon-military-hiring-fair

July 24

New Jersey

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Transition Summit

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/joint-base-mcguire-dix-lakehurst-transition-summit-1

July 25

Maryland

Baltimore Military Spouse Hiring Reception

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/baltimore-military-spouse-hiring-reception

Aug. 2

Maryland

National Harbor Military Spouse Hiring Reception

https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/event/national-harbor-military-spouse-hiring-reception

The U.S. military is giving families more time after adding a child to the family, and allowing them to determine the best way to use that time. More importantly, the military is recognizing that every family has different needs.

The Department of Defense recently directed the services to re-align parental leave programs to become more flexible with the needs of individual families.

Under the new policy, military members are labeled as primary caregiver and secondary caregiver. Military mothers will automatically receive six weeks of maternity convalescent leave immediately following birth.

The primary caregiver will then receive an additional six weeks of leave that can be used at any time during the first year of adding a child to the family. This encompasses families that have a birth or adopt.

The policy allows the parent who did not give birth to be named the primary caregiver and stay home with the child for six weeks, an enormous benefit to military members who are balancing family and work life.

Previously the military only allowed mothers to take 12 weeks of maternity leave immediately after birth.

Also, secondary caregivers are now given more flexible leave time. The Navy and Marine Corps has allowed secondary caregivers 14 days of non-chargeable leave while the Air Force has given secondary caregivers up to three weeks off within the first year of birth or adoption. Again, families can determine who is the primary and who is the secondary and use that time to balance all of their work and home responsibilities.

Finally, perhaps the biggest change is that the time-off allowances apply to non-married parents as well, the biggest sign that the military is recognizing that not all families are the same.  

By Amy Nielsen

My life is currently ruled by yellow sticky notes written in red ballpoint ink fluttering on the edge of my roll top desk in the deepening summer breeze from my open window. They often flit down like leaves from some academic olive branch, telling me exactly what is due this week and on what day. These neatly line up with the color coded squares on my google calendar which is auto populated by my school online learning platform. The dates come from the syllabi entered by the professors.

Without them I would be a very lost little lamby.

Every Sunday, the start of our school week, I spend an hour or so sorting through my class syllabi, printing out a packet of materials from each module, and marking the pages in textbooks that need reading. I take this time to read through the due dates and cross check them with my Google.

Last week, in going through my biochem syllabus, I discovered a discussion series – a lengthy initial post with peer reviewed journal support and a second shorter response post – was due before the on-campus portion of the class, rather than after as I had understood. After a few moments of panic while I figured out what exactly was due, I realized that I did, in fact, have time to complete the assignment since the material was on a topic I was already familiar with.

I really didn’t need the test of the system though.

The next step in my Sunday evening ritual is to double check the Google calendar against the almighty refrigerator calendar. For the last several eons of my life, the refrigerator calendar has been the repository of all things I must do. If it’s not on the calendar:

A) I will not know about it. Therefore

B) it most likely will not happen if it was meant to and

C) if you forget to add it, it’s your own fault.

The last added once I had other bodies for whom I am responsible; husband, kids, dog.

The refrigerator calendar is the brain. We are much too busy for me to even try to pretend I remember half of what I am supposed to be doing.

Thankfully, my school runs on a pretty predictable schedule for the most part. The school week starts on Sunday at 12 a.m. Most online classes have discussion series and other projects due on Wednesdays and Saturdays. On campus classes often have some topic to discuss the week before we arrive for lectures and a week to complete a test after.

 Once I have checked all of the places dates could be lurking, I go over the kids’ workbooks and changing playdate schedule. Because we still are in homeschool mode, I need to make sure my kids complete their allotted school work each day. We usually have this covered, but it is getting to be summer and the lure of the swings in the backyard grove is ever stronger as the mowers start to lift the scent of fresh cut grass. I am often tempted to give in to swings too.

Now to the red pen and yellow sticky notes. Each syllabus gets marked when I have completed an assignment with the date and if I feel necessary the topic of the submission. When I print out my packets for the module, I write a shorthand list of everything due that week in the upper right corner of the Learning Objectives page.
I use a red pen for three reasons. First, they are fifty cents a dozen in December at Walmart. Second, they are Paper Mate 1mm roller ballpoints. A pen in a class alone if you are that type of person. Third, I have dyslexia and reading blue or black ink on a black and white page gets lost to my eyes especially in the presence of led or florescent light. Red pen stands out and doesn’t make my eyes feel like the snakes from Robin Hood.

I use yellow sticky notes because I have an unholy obsession with them ever since I “helped” my Mom at her office when I was younger. Office supplies are my hording tendency. They are the perfect size and shape for just the right amount of information. They are sticky but not too sticky. And they smell neat.

Anyway, I write out each subject, the due dates and the topics, then line them all up in order of which is going to get worked on earlier in the week and what can hold off until later. My fluttering leaves of the academia tree.

This is all in an effort to cover my academic tush and make sure my kids don’t get left without a caregiver for days on end. So far in three terms, I have caught several assignments, a misloaded quiz, and only had to scramble once to make sure my kids were not home alone overnight while I was at school and my husband worked the graveyard shift at the prison. All hail the yellow sticky notes!

I recently asked my husband his lessons learned from retirement. I thought it might be nice to get the servicemember / retiree perspective on things.

As usual, he was quick to point out that he’s no expert and his advice may or may not be welcome. And that everybody’s situation is different. And that what might work for one couple or family might not work for another.

Of course he’s right.

But I told him there is value in hearing from someone who’s been there, done that.

So he rattled off the first four things that popped into his mind, in no particular order. I’ve expanded on a few of them a little, but all are sound words of wisdom:

1. Travel Space A while on terminal leave. We’ve talked about this a couple of times before. Traveling Space A while still active duty puts you in a higher category than retirees. And if you’re lucky, you have the benefit of lots of leave time so you can sign up early. We went Space A to Hawaii after retirement, and kicked ourselves for not doing it, and maybe some other trips, during our 120 days of terminal leave.
2. Consider trying to get your last duty station in a place you’d like to retire to, or at least where you could be happy living during the first year or two. I didn’t really agree when he first said this, and it should also be noted that this was our original plan but it didn’t work out for us. That being said, there are some definite benefits to having a home set up, friends, kids settled in school, possibly a working spouse and just a place where you feel comfortable – maybe not forever, but at least while working out the kinks of leaving the military. There are a lot of costs associated with moving and setting up a new home. Not to mention possible months of uncertainty while deciding where to go or what you want to do, or waiting for job offers. There’s nothing wrong with just paying for a while while you figure out.
3. Go to one of the online retirement calculators right now, no matter how many years you’ve been in, and figure out your retirement under different scenarios. How much would you make at 20 years, 25, or even 30? It doesn’t matter if it’s you’re an E-1 or an 06, knowledge – especially financial knowledge – is power. Once you have that number you can start to make plans and goals for your future, including saving and investing when you are able to.
4. Get your medical issues documented. He did add this caveat: Do it as soon as you are comfortable with your command knowing everything that is wrong with you. He really started documenting everything about two years out, once he knew he was going to retire, didn’t need to be on jump status and was unlikely to deploy on short notice. Like many who are still active duty, he did not want to risk being put on a profile. From a spouse perspective, of course this is hard for us to accept. Either way, get everything documented as soon as possible so that any disability claim can go more smoothly. It also just helps to know where you stand health-wise before leaving the military.

And at the end of our conversation he added this: “The bottom line is, be prepared. We didn’t really do that as much as we should have, but we got lucky and it all worked out.” Ha!

The other night, after my spouse had loaded the dishwasher after dinner without being asked, I went into the kitchen to add a few stray dishes and push the start button.

First, though, I rearranged everything - that glass should be on the top, that bowl should be facing the other way, the silverware should be sorted by type into each basket with the knives pointing down …

Wait. Why was I doing this?

Because that’s the way I’ve always done it.

For 26 years before my husband retired from the military, I did things my own way. I didn’t necessarily think my way was perfect. But, spending more than half our marriage without him, my way was usually the only way. There was no else around to do things any differently.

The same was true of pretty much any adulting done around our house. I had my own system to pay the bills (and sometimes juggle accounts to stretch things until their due dates, or pay something late, with no one being any the wiser). I shopped for insurance, applied for mortgages, picked out houses, bought cars. I decided what to eat, shopped for it and cooked it. I cleaned the house. I did the laundry.

Often times I worked full time, too, but my job was never as demanding as his so it always made me sense for me to do the bulk of the domestic chores. Plus, I was home alone so much that it didn’t much matter.

He did help out when he could, but that always felt like when a guest comes for dinner and offers to clean the table afterward – it’s a nicety in return for something you did for them.

Like many of you, the biggest duty I took on by myself was parenting. For the last 15 years, again with my husband gone more than half the time, I played the role of both “good parent” and “bad parent” to our two kids, being the “fun” one and the “hard” one at the same time.

During deployments, especially, it was me and the kids against the world. The three of us together were a well-oiled machine. They knew that I was the one – the only one - who would fulfill all their needs on a daily basis. As the kids grew into teenagers, we each knew our role in the family and how to respond to – and soothe – each others’ stresses. We knew how to make each other laugh, and we knew when to back off.

Then my husband went on terminal leave, followed by retirement. He was home with us 24/7. Twenty-months later, he’s still here.

Suddenly there was a fourth member of our merry little band.

We’ve all had to adjust. The kids have had to get used to letting dad in our private jokes. They’ve taught him our routines and traditions. They’ve started to sense his moods and learn his quirks, just like they know mine.

I realized it wasn’t that my spouse didn’t want to be an equal parent and domestic partner. He didn’t know to be those things.

And I didn’t know how to let him.

I was used to being the queen bee, and running the house on my terms, the way I wanted. After almost two years, we are still adjusting. The latest sign of progress: Tonight I thanked him for loading the dishwasher, and I didn’t touch a single thing in it. 

Here are seven things I’m working on being better at, to help my spouse feel like a better husband, dad and partner:

• When you need (or just want) something done, ask. “Hey, can you please go switch the laundry over?” is a good start. My husband’s almost always happy to do things when I ask, and at first he waited for me to ask because he didn’t know what he should be doing, if anything. It may seem obvious to us, the ones who have been doing it alone all these years. But it isn’t so obvious to our frazzled spouses who are just struggling to fit in in their own homes.
• Acknowledge the good stuff, and don’t complain about the bad. “I really like the way you grilled that chicken last night.” And if the dishwasher isn’t loaded just right? Trust me, the dishes will still get clean.
• Give options, but not necessarily an option to say no. “Both kids have activities at the same time tonight. Which one do you want to attend?” Of course, don’t be mad if your spouse picks the easy route. I recently gave mine the choice of picking one kid up at swim practice, or taking the other to the dentist. Bet you can’t guess which one he chose - and I can’t say that I blame him!
• Let your partner be a parent. Learning to relate to the kids was one of the hardest things for my husband. He was reluctant to say a single harsh word to them, even when they deserved it. I also don’t always agree with his parenting style (nor does he agree with mine.) But neither of us is right or wrong, as long as the end result is the one we agreed upon. I’m learning to sit back and let him handle situations on his own. He’ll never become comfortable as a parent if I don’t give him the chance to be one.
• Be grateful. A little appreciation goes a long way, as does a little praise. Thank him for putting the groceries away, even if he did put the cereal next to the cat food.
• Create a to-do list. My husband has done this a few times recently and it has been a great communications tool. He makes a list of things that need to be done, then we decide who will do what.
• Relax. Give up the power. This relates to most of the things above. I don’t need to control everything. And, really, who wants that responsibility? For once in my life, post-retirement, I have someone to share it all with. And that is something to embrace and celebrate.

By Amy Nielsen

This year may well see a ginormous shift for us. It has come to my attention that the master’s degree I am pursuing is going to take a whole lot more concentration as we progress toward the walk. Coupled with a change up in the neighborhood dynamics, it looks like we will be moving to a more traditional schooling pattern for my girls. My two kids are currently reporting in grade school as homeschool students in our district.

Yep, my kids are gonna hit public school after only ever having experienced pre-school many years ago.

Probably.

My greatest concern is not that they will be under stimulated after the dynamic day we usually have at home. It’s not that they will be unable to complete the work because we have deviated from the scholastic norm so much. What I am worried about is their growing sense of self and their ability to make it through a year still smiling. School is not what it was when I went. It’s much worse now.

I have one kiddo that is the life of the party. She is the class clown when we meet up with other friends for group classes. She has the spark of every rainbow ever created bursting from her little body. She is smart and creative and powerfully athletic. She is also physically disabled and is often chasing toads in her wheelchair.

My other one is a dreamer plain and simple. She is the kid that watches how it’s done so they know exactly how to do the thing right - that when they finally get to do it, there is nothing left to get. She is the one with the light of distant stars in her eyes with a touch of moon dust and clover in her pocket.

Thankfully our school system is tiny. When I say tiny, I mean one elementary school and one middle school small. The kids go to a county high school small. The elementary has 10 classrooms for six grades small. Classes of under 20 small.

I mean no metal detectors small.

This move to public school affords us to tackle two different conundrums with one proverbial stone. I need concentrated school time for my own studies as I begin earnest work on my thesis. My kids are interested in exploring learning in a more structured style. It helps that our neighbors’ kids are going back to school from homeschooling and will be in the same school and possibly in the same class.

I know that the life dreams my girls whisper at bedtime are beyond my current abilities to support them to. It might be time to reach out to those other resources that a school environment will provide. Beyond the social experiment in peer to peer socialization everyone is so worried about when we homeschool. With several friends who are teachers throughout the U.S., I know that there are opportunities afforded only to school kids that are feeders to the kinds of programs that will get them better positioned to achieve their dreams.

Having a science teacher plugged into the pulse of extracurricular activities is something missing from our current structure. Having a district to be able to help support my athlete in her competitive goals is something homeschooling has a hard time replacing. There are just some things that are better taught in a group setting. Gathering homeschoolers for a project is like herding cats into the bath. Rarely do we have the numbers or regular availability for team sports.

Homeschooling has given us the ability to see this opportunity as a social experiment of sorts, as an investment in learning how “the other half” learn. A tenant of our schooling has always been that to learn by experience is always the best practice.

It is important to be able to walk a mile in another’s shoes when given the opportunity, and this is that chance. If it goes south in a hand basket, being homeschoolers, we will just continue our current curriculum at home with the interim school time chalked up to something to revisit with a better plan in mind.

What do I most look forward to – six hours of uninterrupted writing time and new friends.

What do I most dread about this experiment, early morning school buses and IEP meetings.

Send coffee and wine.

Confused by how much financial aid you are actually receiving? Not sure exactly how much you owe your college?

You’re not alone.

NewAmerica and uAspire, a nonprofit group that advises students on the financial aid process, has released a report saying that many colleges use language and missing information to paint an incomplete picture of how much students actually owe.

In the study, called “Decoding the Cost of College,” the group gathered financial aid award letters from 900 schools and 36 percent of those never showed a total amount due.  In a summary of the report, the group said “award letters lack consistency and transparency.”

The study did not indicate which 900 schools were chosen for the study.

The group listed these key findings:

• Confusing Jargon and Terminology: Of the 455 colleges that offered an unsubsidized student loan, we found 136 unique terms for that loan, including 24 that did not include the word “loan.”
• Omission of the Complete Cost: Of our 515 letters, more than one-third did not include any cost information with which to contextualize the financial aid offered.
• Failure to Differentiate Types of Aid: Seventy percent of letters grouped all aid together and provided no definitions to indicate to students how grants and scholarships, loans, and work-study all differ.
• Misleading Packaging of Parent PLUS Loans: Nearly 15 percent of letters included a PLUS loan as an “award,” making the financial aid package appear far more generous than it really was.
• Vague Definitions and Poor Placement of Work-Study: Of institutions that offered work-study, 70 percent provided no explanation of work-study and how it differs from other types of aid.
• Inconsistent Bottom Line Calculations: In our sample, only 40 percent calculated what students would need to pay, and those 194 institutions had 23 different ways of calculating remaining costs.
• No Clear Next Steps: Only about half of letters provided information about what to do to accept or decline awards, and those that did had inconsistent policies.

Bottom line, if you don’t understand your financial aid award letter, ask questions, early in the process.

To learn more about the study and read the entire document, visit https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/policy-papers/decoding-cost-college/