I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1198 
To require a standard financial aid offer form, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2023 
Mrs. KIM
of California (for herself, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, and Mr. 
GOTTHEIMER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To require a standard financial aid offer form, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Understanding the 
True Cost of College Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. INSTITUTION FINANCIAL AID OFFER FORM. 
Section 484 of the Higher Education Opportunity 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1092 note) is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘SEC. 484. INSTITUTION FINANCIAL AID OFFER FORM. 
‘‘(a) STANDARD FORMAT AND TERMINOLOGY.—The 
Secretary of Education, in consultation with the heads of 
relevant Federal agencies, shall develop standard termi-
nology and a standard format for financial aid offer forms 
based on recommendations from representatives of stu-
dents, veterans, servicemembers, students’ families, insti-
tutions of higher education (including community colleges, 
for-profit institutions, four-year public institutions, and 
four-year private nonprofit institutions), financial aid ex-
perts, secondary school and postsecondary counselors, 
nonprofit organizations, and consumer groups. 
‘‘(b) KEY
REQUIRED
CONTENTS
FOR
OFFER 
FORM.—The standard format developed under subsection 
(a) shall include, in a consumer-friendly manner that is 
simple and understandable, a form titled ‘Financial Aid 
Offer’, which shall include the following items, with costs 
listed first followed by grants and scholarships, clearly 
separated from each other with separate headings: 
‘‘(1) COST INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(A) Information on the student’s esti-
mated cost of attendance, including the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(i) Total direct costs, including the 
component totals each for— 
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‘‘(I) tuition and fees, as deter-
mined under section 472 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087ll); and 
‘‘(II) college-sponsored housing 
and food costs (as determined based 
on the costs for room and board 
under such section). 
‘‘(ii) Total estimated other expenses, 
including— 
‘‘(I) the component totals each 
for housing and food costs for stu-
dents who reside off-campus; and 
‘‘(II) for all students, books, sup-
plies, transportation, and miscella-
neous personal expenses (which may 
include costs of health insurance and 
dependent care), as determined under 
section 472 of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll). 
‘‘(B) An indication of the academic period 
covered by the financial aid offer, and an expla-
nation that the financial aid offered may 
change for academic periods not covered by the 
aid offer or by program. 
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‘‘(C) An indication of whether cost and aid 
estimates are based on full-time or part-time 
enrollment. 
‘‘(D) An indication, as applicable, about 
whether the tuition and fees are estimated 
based on the previous year, or are set, for the 
academic period indicated in accordance with 
subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(2) GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS.—The aggre-
gate amount of grants and scholarships by source 
that the student does not have to repay, such as 
grant aid offered under title IV of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) and 
grant aid offered through other Federal programs, 
grant aid offered by the institution, grant aid of-
fered by the State, and, if known, grant aid from an 
outside source to the student for such academic pe-
riod, including— 
‘‘(A) a disclosure that the grants and 
scholarships do not have to be repaid; and 
‘‘(B) if institutional aid is included— 
‘‘(i) the conditions under which the 
student can expect to receive similar 
amounts of such financial aid for each aca-
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demic period the student is enrolled at the 
institution; and 
‘‘(ii) whether the institutional aid 
offer may change if grants or scholarships 
from outside sources are applied after the 
student receives the offer form, and, if ap-
plicable, how that aid will change. 
‘‘(3) NET PRICE.— 
‘‘(A) The net price that the student, or the 
student’s family on behalf of the student, is es-
timated to have to pay for the student to attend 
the institution for such academic period, equal 
to— 
‘‘(i) the cost of attendance as de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(A) for the stu-
dent for the period indicated in paragraph 
(1)(B); minus 
‘‘(ii) the amount of grant aid de-
scribed in paragraph (2) that is included in 
the financial aid offer form. 
‘‘(B) A disclosure that the net price is an 
estimate of the total expenses for the year and 
not equivalent to the amount the student will 
owe directly to the institution. 
‘‘(4) LOANS.— 
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‘‘(A) Information on any loan under part 
D or part E of title IV of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.; 20 
U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.) (except a Federal Direct 
PLUS Loan under part D of that Act) that the 
institution recommends for the student for the 
academic period covered by the offer, which 
shall be made— 
‘‘(i) with clear use of the word ‘loan’ 
to 
describe 
the 
recommended 
loan 
amounts; and 
‘‘(ii) with clear labeling of subsidized 
and unsubsidized loans. 
‘‘(B) A disclosure that such loans have to 
be repaid and a disclosure that the student can 
borrow a lesser or, if applicable, greater amount 
than the recommended loan amount. 
‘‘(C) A disclosure that the interest rates 
and fees on such loans are set annually and af-
fect total cost over time, and a link to a De-
partment of Education website that includes 
current information on interest rates and fees. 
‘‘(D) A link to the Department of Edu-
cation’s repayment calculator website for stu-
dents with instruction that this website contains 
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