What exactly is the EFC of financial aid?

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I applied for aid, and I just wondered if I was expected to pay all my EFC (expected family contribution) towards tuition and books, or does it also include cost of living expenses? I just thought that it seems like a lot for me to pay out of pocket. Thanks

Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.
They didn't ask for home value, did they? I don't recall that question coming up.

There was questions about net worth. Sometimes companies include your home as part of your net worth, but FAFSA does not.

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Specializes in AGNP.

My EFC is $5500 and my sisters is $5000. :uhoh3: My mom just laughs at the thought that they are supposed to have $10,000 to shell out for our schooling. Luckily I will be done with my BS in Human Biology is a couple months but I have racked up $15,000 in student loans which isn't including the PLUS loans my parents took out. I am going to be up to my eyeballs in debt when I go to nursing school!!

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My EFC was $4,000 until they figured in my "special circumstances form" (I won a truck that had to be filed on my taxes as "income" last year, and I'm quitting my full-time job in June) - now it's down to more like $100.

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Specializes in Gynecology/Oncology.
There was questions about net worth. Sometimes companies include your home as part of your net worth, but FAFSA does not.

Fafsa asks about your net worth, but says do NOT count home value in this. So if I owe over $5,000 for my EFC, do I actually have to put that much towards my schooling, or does that count gas and all that?? I'm still confused.

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Specializes in AGNP.
Fafsa asks about your net worth, but says do NOT count home value in this. So if I owe over $5,000 for my EFC, do I actually have to put that much towards my schooling, or does that count gas and all that?? I'm still confused.

The EFC is the amount they assume you can contribute (at least on paper) toward your or your child's college education for one year. The EFC is subtracted from your school's total estimated cost of attendance or budget (tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, board, personal, transportation, etc.). Then the financial aid office determines what aid you are eligible for.

Here is a website that explains the formulas they use to come up with the EFC. http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/EFC_Formula_Guide0304.pdf

The way my financial aid office has explained it is that if your EFC is say $5,000, then they assume that you can afford to pay out of pocket or through loans $5000 of your total cost of tuition, living expenses, etc.

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Specializes in Gynecology/Oncology.
The EFC is the amount they assume you can contribute (at least on paper) toward your or your child's college education for one year. The EFC is subtracted from your school's total estimated cost of attendance or budget (tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, board, personal, transportation, etc.). Then the financial aid office determines what aid you are eligible for.

Here is a website that explains the formulas they use to come up with the EFC. http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/EFC_Formula_Guide0304.pdf

The way my financial aid office has explained it is that if your EFC is say $5,000, then they assume that you can afford to pay out of pocket or through loans $5000 of your total cost of tuition, living expenses, etc.

So if they say I can contribute $5,000 through loans, then would the remainder of my tuition, books, etc., also come from loans?

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Specializes in AGNP.
So if they say I can contribute $5,000 through loans, then would the remainder of my tuition, books, etc., also come from loans?

This is the way that it has always worked for me: Say your tuition, books, living expenses, etc is $20,000 for the year. They subtract the EFC of $5,000 from that so then it is $15,000 - they then may give you grants, scholarships, loans, etc to cover that $15,000. So say they give you some grants and scholarships that covers $10,000 so then there is $5,000 left which they will offer you a loan to cover. Then you still have your EFC of $5,000 to take care of - if you do not have the cash to cover that then you will have to take out an additional amount in loans. So if you didn't have the cash then you would be taking approximately $10,000 in loans and the other $10,000 would be covered with grants/scholarships.

I really hope that makes sense, it is hard to explain since financial aid is so confusing. For my BS degree every year I have paid about 1/3 of my expenses with cash, 1/3 with a student loan and 1/3 with my parents loan.

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I can't even find out my EFC yet! The website for FAFSA sent me an email saying they were sending the info. to my school and I have yet to hear from them, though I have checked with them. I am getting antsy and want everything figured out so I am positive I can actually start in the fall!

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Nope, I'm wrong....I just checked and it $403. I wish I understood all this stuff!

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Thanks for the tip, but I'm afraid I didn't add home value. The only thing I put was what we had in our 401K, which I don't think is necessary to give them anyhow, since we won't be using that for school! I double checked, but no errors. [sigh]

I entered the amount from our 401K's and had a EFC of 12,000. I researched it and foundout that you do not put this on the worksheet. It cut my EFC in half (still not enough for a grant!)

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Specializes in Gynecology/Oncology.
I entered the amount from our 401K's and had a EFC of 12,000. I researched it and foundout that you do not put this on the worksheet. It cut my EFC in half (still not enough for a grant!)

Really? I saw there was a place for it, but it isn't required? I would like to change mine if that isn't needed!

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Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health.
The EFC is the amount they assume you can contribute (at least on paper) toward your or your child's college education for one year. The EFC is subtracted from your school's total estimated cost of attendance or budget (tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, board, personal, transportation, etc.). Then the financial aid office determines what aid you are eligible for.

Here is a website that explains the formulas they use to come up with the EFC. http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/EFC_Formula_Guide0304.pdf

The way my financial aid office has explained it is that if your EFC is say $5,000, then they assume that you can afford to pay out of pocket or through loans $5000 of your total cost of tuition, living expenses, etc.

This is an excellent explanation.

I worked in Financial Aid as a work study job while going to school for my business degree. As a dependent, it was assumed that a higher percentage of any income/savings that you had would go toward school expenses (since it is assumed that you are living under your parents' roof and don't have much "overhead." A lesser amount of your parents' income/savings were figured into your EFC (decreased by number of dependents in college, etc.)

There was a formula used by the school that determined your "budget." It incorporated your expenses. The total of your grants, loans and EFC could not exceed the budget. (For instance, if your budget was 8,000 and you were getting 2000 in grants and your EFC was 3000, you could borrow through student loans only up to the 3000 shortfall (assuming that doesn't exceed the borrowing cap - it's been a while!)

Good lord, I had forgotten how much I hated that job - no wonder I'm a nurse, not a business person! :)

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