<p>Is the EFC calculated by Columbia similar to the EFC from Collegeboard?
The school needs more resources to aid current students as the job loss increasing.
Many schools may change the formula to increase the EFC.</p>
<p>My EFC calculated from the CSS after my ED admission was significantly lower than my EFC re-calculated after submitting FAFSA. I've called the office and they've been enigmatic about which they're following and if they're going to recalculate.</p>
<p>Columbia has a minimum EFC that changes based on what year you are in. First is 0, second is a few hundred $, third is slightly more than 2nd, etc...If you have a CSS/FAFSA EFC of 0 though then even in your sr year the money you pay to columbia won't exceed 1000$. By then you should be getting jobs during the summer anyways....</p>
<p>@emigre0518: The 300 or so schools that use the CSS tend to end up calculating a higher EFC due to the fact that the CSS takes into account assets not included in the FAFSA federal calculations (like home equity, assets owned by siblings, etc), and only partly included in the FAFSA institutional calculations (home equity in particular). Moreover, schools that use the CSS tend to penalize divorced families with remarriages since they can take into account the incomes of both biological parents plus any step-parents. The CSS finds any and all assets that could possibly be liquidated to pay for your college education. That's why some folks purposely avoid CSS schoolls when they aply, but the irnoy is that those tend to be among the more highly-rated schools.</p>
<p>In the end, though, it is really just a crapshoot.</p>