What does the EFC number mean?

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

What does the number next to EFC mean on the FASFA form?

 

Is that what you are expected to pay at college?

 

Hypothetically, lets say your college is $55000 and your number is something like 39,000.....do you pay the difference?

 

Do you have to pay 39,000....or 55,000...so confused on this net aid....stuff

Edited October 28, 2011 by Lux Et Veritas Academy

[Chris in PA]

EFC is the estimated family contribution. It is what you are expected to pay. I about choked when I saw ours for the first time.

[creekland]

On the real Fafsa - with real numbers in - the EFC is the amount the student and family are supposed to contribute to their education for that year. A college can not offer any federal aid (grants, loans, work study) dipping into that amount, but can offer it for the difference between the two figures (39K and 55K).

 

A college CAN offer their own aid below that amount, but no federal aid can be part of the package at all.

 

For those with high EFCs and good stats, going for merit aid is often a better option. For those with low EFCs and reasonable to good stats, heading toward schools well known for need based aid is often a better option.

 

State schools can also be a less expensive option pending what is offered elsewhere.

 

EFC calculators can be off, so if you're just using an estimate, things might be different. They can also be different at schools which use the College Profile and not just the Fafsa.

[Brenda in MA]

EFC is the estimated family contribution. It is what you are expected to pay. I about choked when I saw ours for the first time.

 

Not exactly. The EFC is just an index that tells whether or not you qualify for free federal aid (e.g. Pell Grant). Your EFC has to be below about $5K to qualify for Pell.

 

The EFC (Expected Family Contribution) is really a misnomer because it is up to individual colleges what to do with that number. Some colleges also require a financial aid form administered by the College Board called the Profile. The Profile is like the FAFSA in that it asks for your income and savings, but the Profile also asks for things not included on the FAFSA (like the net value of your primary residence and the amount you have in retirement accounts). The colleges that use the Profile form will often compute their own "EFC" using the profile data that is often higher than the number you see on the FAFSA. The FAFSA and Profile often also differ in how they deal with income from divorced parents. The FAFSA considers income from the custodial parent only (and any new spouse he/she has). The Profile often asks about the income of the non-custodial parent, too.

 

If you take the Cost of Attendance (COA) and subtract the EFC, you end up with a number that you could call your "need". However, most colleges don't meet "need" when awarding financial aid. They often leave a "gap" between your "need" and what they actually award you. This gap is money that you (or the student) have to come up with if you want to attend that school.

 

Generally, if you are looking at strictly "financial aid" (money awarded based upon need) and not "merit aid" (money awarded for high scores/grades), then your child will not receive a need-based award higher than COA-EFC. However, if your child has high scores/grades, he/she might qualify for merit scholarships at the schools that give them. He/she might win a merit scholarship that would cause you to pay less than your EFC.

 

The whole system is so complicated, it's really a good idea to educate yourself as best you can. The book "Paying for College without Going Broke" from the Princeton Review was helpful to me.

 

Best wishes as you navigate through tough waters!

Brenda

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

The colleges that use the Profile form will often compute their own "EFC" using the profile data that is often higher than the number you see on the FAFSA.

 

This is even more depressing! Aughhhhh

 

THanks I am running out to buy the book Brenda!

[Julie in MN]

However, if your child has high scores/grades, he/she might qualify for merit scholarships at the schools that give them. He/she might win a merit scholarship that would cause you to pay less than your EFC.

 

Just a note... don't expect to combine merit and need scholarships. Every dollar of merit scholarships will reduce need-based scholarships & grants by a dollar (or more), unless the family is still paying the EFC.

 

Julie

[Brenda in MA]

Just a note... don't expect to combine merit and need scholarships. Every dollar of merit scholarships will reduce need-based scholarships & grants by a dollar (or more), unless the family is still paying the EFC.

 

Julie

 

Yes, Julie is correct. The only way that a merit scholarship would reduce your EFC is if the amount of the scholarship exceeds your determined "need". So if you have a COA - EFC = $20,000/yr and your student wins a merit scholarship worth $25,000/yr, you would pay $5,000 below your EFC. Hope this makes sense.

 

Brenda

[creekland]

Just a note... don't expect to combine merit and need scholarships. Every dollar of merit scholarships will reduce need-based scholarships & grants by a dollar (or more), unless the family is still paying the EFC.

 

Julie

 

This is true if it's federal aid. College need based aid can go lower than an EFC and I've seen it happen multiple times (but it's not necessarily "super common"). Colleges can be more flexible with what they determine "need" to be and they will be if they really want a student. They just can't do it with federal funds or in any way use federal funds in these situations.

 

The federal EFC number can also change at the college's discretion IF they can substantiate the reason for it. Medical costs or private school costs are examples of these. The college doesn't have to change anything, but they can if they want to.

 

In our rather "need based" area I've seen a bit happen with the EFC. It all depends on how much the school wants the student and how much money they have to work with.