November 2023

collegefinancingplan@ed.gov

U.S. Department of Education 

COLLEGE FINANCING PLAN

Technical Reference Guide 

Graduate and Professional School Students
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Table of Contents

1 OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 2

1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................. 3

1.2 Important Contact Information................................................................................ 3

2 DATA LAYOUT................................................................................................................. 4

2.1 Student Information ................................................................................................ 5

3 GLOSSARY .................................................................................................................... 10

List of Figures

Figure 1-1: College Financing Plan ...................................................................................... 2

Figure 2-1: Annotated College Financing Plan .................................................................... 4

Figure 3-1: Glossary............................................................................................................ 10

List of Tables

Table 2-1: Student Information Section................................................................................ 6

Table 2-2: Element and Control ID for Responsive College Financing Plan ...................... 8
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1 OVERVIEW

The United States Department of Education’s College Financing Plan, shown in Figure

1-1, is a consumer tool that institutions can use to notify students about their financial 

aid package. The Department’s “College Financing Plan” is a standardized form. It is 

designed to simplify the information that prospective students receive about costs and 

financial aid so that they can easily compare institutions and make informed decisions 

about where to attend school. 

Figure 1-1: College Financing Plan
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1.1 Introduction 

This Technical Reference Guide provides programmer specifications and record layouts 

for vendors and/or institutions that choose to adopt the College Financing Plan. This 

guide offers a methodical approach, rather than a task-oriented approach, to

implementing the tool. It is intended for users who are already familiar with, or interested 

in using, the College Financing Plan as a supplement or replacement to the institution’s 

existing award letter. 

The framework/structure of the College Financing Plan is designed using Hypertext 

Markup Language (HTML), and the actual file containing the HTML code is provided by 

the U.S. Department of Education. This document will give you a better understanding of 

the various elements required to produce and populate the applicable fields using the 

institution’s existing data. In addition, this document assumes that the reader 

understands HTML, and has the required knowledge to edit the provided code. 

1.2 Important Contact Information 

Please direct any questions, feedback, or comments to the U.S. Department of 
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Education at collegefinancingplan@ed.gov. For more information on producing the 

College Financing Plan, including information on the HTML file, please visit 

https://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/guid/aid-offer/index.html.

2 DATA LAYOUT

Figure 2-1 provides annotations for the College Financing Plan template. 

Figure 2-1: Annotated College Financing Plan

Outlined below are the data elements in each section and the information required to 

produce and populate the College Financing Plan. 
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2.1 Student Information 

This section contains information specific to the institution and the prospective student 

including the estimated cost of attendance, possible grant and scholarship aid, work 

options, loan options, and so on. 

The data required to populate the Student Information section are provided by the 

institution. Table 2-1 outlines each “Subsection” and provides a “Description” of its 

intended use
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Table 2-1: Student Information Section

Subsection Description

Student Name/Identifier The prospective student’s name and 

identifier (as assigned by the institution). 

Date Issued The month, day, and year that the College 

Financing Plan was created to notify the 

prospective student about their financial 

aid package. 

Institution Name The name of the institution providing the 

College Financing Plan. 

Total Costs of Attendance 2024-25 year 

• Tuition and fees 

• Housing and food

• Books and supplies 

• Transportation 

• Other education costs 

• Estimated Cost of Attendance 

This information is generated by the 

institution itself and should provide a clear 

understanding of the costs associated with 

one year of enrollment at the institution for 

the named student. 

Student Aid Index

• Based on the FAFSA 

• Based on Institutional Methodology 

At most institutions, the expected family 

contribution is based on the FAFSA results; 

however, if an institutional methodology is 

used, that result may be provided.

Scholarship and Grant Options 

Merit-Based Scholarships 

• Scholarships From Your School 

• Scholarships From Your State 

• Other Scholarships 

• Employer Paid Tuition Benefits 

• School Paid Tuition Benefits

• Tuition Remission/Waiver

• Total Scholarships 

Grants 

Need-Based Grant Aid

• Institutional Grants 

• State Grants 

• Scholarships for Disadvantaged 

Students

• Other Forms of Grant Aid 

• Total Grants 

This should include all financial aid options 

available to the named student to assist with 

the costs outlined above. 
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VA Education Benefits Benefits that help Veterans, service 

members, and their qualified family 

members with needs like paying college 

tuition, finding the right school or training 

program, and getting career counseling.

College Costs You Will Be Required to Pay

• Net Price 

This number reflects the net cost of 

attendance for the named student after 

grants and scholarships are taken into 

account. 

Loan options 

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan 

• Grad Plus Federal Loan

• HRSA Loans

• Total Loan Options

At most institutions, the recommended 

loan amounts for the named student are 

based on the FAFSA results; however, an 

institutional methodology may also be 

used. 

Other Options

• Tuition payment plan offered by the 

institution

• Non-Federal Private education loan, 

which you or your parent can apply

for after passing a credit check

• Other Military or National Service 

Benefits

Students may have other options to repay 

the remaining costs. 

Work options 

• Work-Study hours per week 

(estimated)

• Assistantships 

At most institutions, the expected work 

award amounts for the named student are 

based on the FAFSA results; however, an 

institutional methodology may also be 

used. 

Customized information Institutions can use this section to add 

additional, customized information specific 

to the institution and the named student. 

For more information and next steps 

• Financial Aid Office Contact 

Information (Address, Telephone, 

and E-mail) 

Specific contact information for the 

institution’s financial aid office including the 

address, telephone number, and e- mail 

address. 
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Table 2-2 lists each “Element” used within the Student Information section, along with 

its assigned “Control ID” (as it is displayed within the College Financing Plan HTML 

code). 

Table 2-2: Element and Control ID for Responsive College Financing Plan

Element Control ID

School Name school-name 

Student Name/Identifier student-name 

Date Issued date-stamp 

Download Button download-btn 

Total Cost of Attendance costs-table 

Tuition and fees costs-tuition-and-fees 

On-campus housing and food costs-housing-and-food-on- campus 

Off-campus housing and food costs-housing-and-food-off- campus 

Books and supplies costs-books-and-supplies 

Transportation costs-transportation 

Other education costs costs-other-education-costs 

Estimated Cost of Attendance On campus costs-total-estimated-cost-on-campus

Estimated Cost of Attendance Off campus costs-total-estimated-cost-off-campus 

Student Aid Index Header family-table 

Based on the FAFSA family-fafsa-cost 

Based on Institutional Methodology family-institution-cost 

Scholarship Section Header scholarships-table

Scholarships from your school aid-scholarships-school

Scholarships from your state aid-scholarships-state 

Other scholarships aid-scholarships-other 

Employer Paid Tuition Benefits employer-paid-tuition-benefits 

School Paid Tuition Benefits school-paid-tuition-benefits

Tuition remission/waiver tuition-remission-waiver

Total Scholarships aid-total-scholarships 

Grant Section Header grants-table 

Institutional Grants aid-grants-institution 

State Grants aid-grants-state 

Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students aid-scholarship-disadvantaged
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Other forms of grant aid aid-grants-other 

Total Grants aid-total-grants 

VA Education Benefits va-education-table

VA Education Benefit va-education-benefit

College Costs You Will be Required to Pay 

Header 

net-price-table 

Net Price net-price-total 

Loan Options Section Header loan-options-table 

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan loan-options-federal-direct-unsubsidized 

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan Interest 

Rate

loan-options-federal-direct-unsubsidized-rate

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan 

Origination Fee

loan-options-federal-direct-unsubsidized-loan 

origination-fee

Grad Plus Federal Loan loan-options-grad-plus-federal-loan

Grad Plus Federal Loan Interest Rate loan-options-grad-plus-loan-rate

Grad Plus Federal Loan Origination Fee loan-options-grad-plus-loan-origination-fee

HRSA Loans loan-options-hrsa-loan

HRSA Loans Interest Rate loan-options-hrsa-loan-rate

HRSA Loans Origination Fee loan-options-hrsa-loan-origination-fee

Total Loan Options loan-options-total 

Work Options Section Header work-options-table 

Work Study work-options-work-study 

Work Study Hours work-options-hours-per-week

Assistantships work-options-assistantships

Total Work work-options-total 
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3 GLOSSARY

The Department has added a glossary as a second page to the College Financing Plan. 

This addition will help better explain financial aid terms used on the College Financing 

Plan to students, financial aid administrators, and guidance counselors. 

Figure 3-1: Glossary

Glossary of College Finanacing Plan for Graduate and Professional School students