Financial aid letters are designed to give you a better idea of how much college is actually going to cost you. The problem is, each college's letter looks different and it can be difficult to tell which is the free money and which is money you have to pay back.
Also, some colleges send financial aid award letters in the mail, while others make it available only on your student portal on their college website. If you haven't set up an account with the college, you may miss the information.
Check out this tool that describes these letters in more detail and to use a comparison tool to compare apples to apples:
https://www.discover.com/student-loans/award-letter-comparison-tool.html?acmpgn=E_EAW_SCHL_BM_A_0816
If you have questions about your financial aid award letters, please feel free to stop in the College and Career Center and talk to the advisor.