Financial aid offers are the primary tool colleges and universities use to communicate eligibility for federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs to their prospective and current students. Institutions of higher education develop their own financial aid offers, taking into account many factors, including the format of the educational programs they offer, and the population of students they serve. Aid offers should be student-centric and transparent, using consistent terminology and clearly communicating all direct and indirect costs. Legislative efforts to bring greater clarity to financial aid offers are well-placed, while efforts aimed toward rigid standardization may miss the mark. Any attempts at modeling or standardizing elements and definitions of financial aid offers should be consumer-tested to ensure they achieve the intended results.