A structured, local import
Bring your offer
into the worksheet.
Use one CSV for one college option. Download the template, replace its example rows with your own amounts, and review everything before import.
The template is illustrative, not an aid offer or a college price. Your file stays on this device. PDF award letters and OCR are not supported.
The import sequence
- Open the comparison tool and choose “Import CSV.” Select a UTF-8 CSV smaller than 5 MB.
- Inspect the preview. Map your file’s headings to the listed fields.
- Set the academic years and named terms. Confirm how the periods in the file match that calendar.
- Correct reported errors. Confirm the periods explicitly, then add the option.
- Review its editable costs, gift aid, loans, and earnings before relying on the totals.
Columns
| Column | Accepted values and meaning |
|---|---|
| type | cost, grant, loan, earnings, or own-funds |
| label | Your description of this line item |
| amount | A nonnegative dollar amount with up to two decimal places, such as 1250.50. No currency conversion. |
| period | term, academic-year, or whole-program. It is counted once for the named period. |
| year / term | Labels matching the calendar you confirm. A term requires both year and term. |
| category | For costs: tuition, mandatory-fees, housing, food, books-supplies, transportation, or other |
| billed | true for a cost billed by the college; false for an indirect expense |
| status | For grants: offered, accepted, or estimated |
| renewal | confirmed, not-renewable, or unknown |
| confirmed | true only when you confirm that grant for the entered period; otherwise false |
| conditions | Grant conditions, such as enrollment or renewal requirements |
| fee | A dollar fee withheld from a loan’s principal, in the same period |
| selected | true to include a loan or earnings scenario; otherwise false |
| source | For earnings: work-study or other |
Avoid counting the same money twice
Enter either an annual expense or its individual term amounts. Do not enter both. A scholarship is gift aid; a loan is financing; work-study is assumed earnings. Put each in its own category.
Reopen a whole comparison with JSON
JSON preserves the complete editable comparison, including periods and assumptions. Use “Export JSON” to save it, and “Open JSON” to reopen it. A CSV report is intended for a spreadsheet; it is not the same format as the offer-import template.