College acceptance and financial aid letters are going out — how to understand your offers

College hopefuls will finally hear from schools about their admissions decisions this month.

Financial aid offers are laid out in each school's financial aid award letter.

Not all colleges include direct and indirect expenses in the total "cost of attendance" Don't borrow any more than you absolutely have to, most experts say.

There are more than 1.7 million private scholarships and fellowships available.

"There is so much money out there that people don't even know is available," says Yrefy's Terry.

Every 40 hours you spend applying for scholarships and grants will result in $10,000.