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Colleges will use your EFC to figure out how much aid you’re eligible to receive.
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Your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC, is used to determine the amount of financial aid you get for school.
Your EFC is based on the information you provide on the FAFSA about your family’s income and assets.
Colleges don’t have to meet 100% of your financial need, so fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form that determines your eligibility for financial aid. To do so, it produces a figure called your Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
What is your EFC?
Your EFC is a number that establishes whether you qualify for specific types of federal student aid. The information you fill out on your FAFSA — including your parents’ income, their assets, and information about any other family members attending college that year — determines your EFC.
Importantly, your EFC is not the amount of money you’ll have to pay for college. It’s simply a number used by colleges to determine the amount of aid you’re eligible to get.
Read more about the complete formula used to calculate your EFC.
The EFC will be renamed the Student Aid Index in July 2023 and will take effect during the 2023-24 school year.
How does your EFC impact the aid you receive?
Your Cost of Attendance (COA) is the total cost of college during a given school year. This number includes tuition and fees, room and board, books, supplies, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Your college will subtract your EFC from your COA to determine your financial need. For example, if your COA is $20,000 and your EFC is $8,000, your financial need is $12,000. This means you are eligible for a maximum of $12,000 in need-based aid.
However, colleges don’t have to meet 100% of your financial need. Some programs have limited funds, so it’s in your best interest to file the FAFSA as soon as you can for the best chance at qualifying for the most aid.
Here are types of aid that are based on your EFC:
Pell Grants: Given to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need and haven’t already earned a degree. You can get between $650 and $6,495 toward the cost of your schooling.FSEO Grants: Given to undergraduate students who have financial need, up to $4,000. Not every school participates. Direct Subsidized Loans: A federal student loan available to undergraduate students who have financial need. The Department of Education will cover your interest charges while you’re in school and during a six-month grace period after you graduate. The maximum amount depends on what year of school you are in. Work-study: Provides part-time jobs for students with financial need to earn money for academic expenses. The jobs are often on campus, but some are off campus. The government will base your work-study award on when you apply, your level of financial need, and the amount of money your school has available.
Your eligibility for non-need-based aid is determined by the COA minus all financial aid you’ve received so far, including any additional aid the school offers you or private scholarships.
Some forms of aid that don’t take your EFC into account include:
Direct Unsubsidized Loans: A federal student loan available to all students who are enrolled at least half-time in an eligible school. Students do not need to demonstrate financial need to qualify for an unsubsidized loan. Interest will begin to accrue as soon as the loan funds are distributed. The maximum amount depends on what year of school you are in. Direct PLUS Loans: Graduate students, professional students, and parents of undergraduate students can take out these federal student loans, which come with higher interest rates that Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans. The maximum loan amount you can receive is determined by the COA minus any other financial aid you or your child receive. TEACH Grants: Require you to be a full-time teacher for four years at a school or educational service agency that serves low-income students. You can get a grant of up to $4,000 per year, but if you don’t complete your service, all TEACH Grants you got will be converted to Direct Unsubsidized Loans.
You can contact your school or the Federal Student Aid office to learn more out how your EFC plays into your overall financial aid package.