<p>I just did a very, very rudimentary EFC and got a pretty hefty amount. However, the college I got accepted to will have a total cost for 4 years total (tuition, rooming ,dining, etc.) of about 186,000, so I could be asking a stupid question and probably am, but let's say the EFC is 100,000 (not mine - just an easy number). Does that mean that my parents will contribute 100,000 while the government after filling out FAFSA will pay the other 86,000? I'm really, really ignorant of everything about financial aid, so I'm probably asking a dumb question, but then again, if I ask a dumb question, then perhaps I'll educate myself on this, so can someone please answer? Much appreciated!</p>
<p>I'm just getting nervous now that although I got into my ED school and I'm ecstatic, now the reality of paying for college is finally setting in, and I've begun frantically searching for scholarships and financial aid info, especially since my school said they're probably gonna give us nothing.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The EFC is per year. So EFC for the family you described is 25,000 a year.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have financial need, the government will generally provide a subsidized stafford loan (~2500/year) and work-study (~2500/year). If you're at the very low end, you may also qualify for Pell Grant (up to 4000/year) and Perkins loan.</p></li>
<li><p>The remainder is generally covered by grants or loans from the institution if the institution meets all need (which this one apparently doesn't).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You might qualify for the subsidized stafford and work-study, but the government will not give you any free money for college. Your family will have to come up with the remaining money from income, savings, and loans. If you can't find a way to pay for it, you could ask your ED school to release your contract and go to a state school or something.</p>
<p>It appears you got into Cornell ED - did you file all the required finaid documents that were due November 1?
The EFC is an annual number, not for 4 years. If your EFC is anywhere over 50,000 you will get nothing from Cornell. However, if you filled out the finaid documents you could get a unsubsidized stafford loan.</p>
<p>From your back posts, I see that you got into Cornell. From what you said in your original post here, apparently Cornell does not view you as a person with financial need (according to Cornell's standards). That leaves you with the options of getting merit aid from local or other scholarship suppliers or taking out loans. It may be hard to back out of your ED commitment because apparently Cornell's view of your family's finances is that you don't have financial need. The fact that your family views the situation differently may not be enough for Cornell to release you from your contract. </p>
<p>If you are released by Cornell, more than likely, you'll have to go to a public institution because the other Ivies (and possibly some similarly competitive colleges) aren't going to accept a person who backed out of ED. Those schools do share lists of ED admitted students.</p>
<p>Whoa, there. You need to do some reading as to how college money works, something you should have been doing earlier. You need to submit the FAFSa in order to get your family EFC for this upcoming academic year. The figure you get, your EFC ,is what your family is expected to pay according to government methodology for that first year. It also screens your eligiblitiy for PELL grants, subsidized loans, state loans, and any other govt money that your college may dispense. Really, the Pell and the Stafford are all that are guaranteed IF your EFC is low enough. Many colleges use their own apps or PROFILE to come up with what they consider your family EFC. If your college requires FAFSA only, they may provide an aid package with whatever govt money you are eligible to get plus whatever they feel like giving in their own money. Unless the school guarantees 100% of need which FAFSA only schools rarely do, you are not likely to get your full need covered and will have to come up with the gap, IF the school uses PROFILE or its own form, and guarantees 100% of need, it will supplement whatever govt money with their own funds, which can be in the form of loans or grants, or a combo of both, so that your family only has to come up with the EFC. Schools without the 100% guarantee, can come up with anything. You have to go through this process each year, since family finances can change.</p>
<p>Even if you don't qualify for aid, you should fill out the FAFSA since some merit award may require it. If your school has already given you some indication of what they are going to give, you must have completed a PROFILE or other financial aid form. With a hefty EFC, you are not likely to get any grants from the govt. Just availability to some non subsidized loans. Unless you come up with independent scholarships, or your college has some merit awards that it will award, you are not going to get anything. You and/or parents have the loan route to take if you cannot pay the whole amounts. Some schools do not give much to ED students because you are pretty much stuck with your commitment which you freely gave, knowing that the pricetag of the school. The money is better used to try to get someone in the RD round to commit, and some scholarship money can be nice sweetners. As a rule, you should not apply ED if you want or need money for that reason, and also because you cannot compare offers.</p>