It’s not necessarily a public/private school thing. I was director at a private school, and I used the federal “shopping sheet” award letter format. This format clearly separates types of aid, in addition to including things like the school’s loan default rate. I am a firm believer in doing whatever I can to make financial aid easier to understand. Although use of the shopping sheet is not mandatory, I felt that if more schools would use the federal format, it might be easier for students to compare awards.