<p>Just wondering.</p>
<p>nope.
10chars</p>
<p>Not for most schools.</p>
<p>For instance at a school that does not have large endowments with which to give institutional financial aid (such as a State school) most of the aid will come from federal sources and will not cover the costs.
The federal aid grants available for a 2008-2009 freshman are
Pell Grant:$4731 (maximum this goes down as EFC goes up)
ACG: $750 (includes some academic requirements)
SEOG:varies by school up to $4000 (this is a very limited funds grant meaning each school is given $xxx and once it is awarded there is no more - schools decide how to award it - very hard to get - not guaranteed even with 0 EFC. AT my daughters school the max is $2000)</p>
<p>After that there is Work study and Loans. Many States also have grants for their students staying instate. The grant in our state is $1000.</p>
<p>As even State Us have costs of attendance in the high $teensK or the $twentiesK you can see a full ride is not met by federal $$$s</p>
<p>Full rides can happen at schools with large endowments. Not the norm though.</p>
<p>Ha! You wish. =/ Unless they give awesome aid, like an Ivy League or something, then no. It doesn't mean a full ride.</p>
<p>Not for any schools!!
You wish my friend! The only full rides that really exist are merits/academic scholarships. I took a year to into looking this stuff after being burnt last year without a college to go to despite being accepted everywhere I applied (:</p>
<p>Actually, it is possible to get a free ride with a combination of EFC = 0 and merit.</p>
<p>UC Regents would be one example.</p>
<p>At Stanford, even with an EFC = O there is still work study and a student contribution.</p>
<p>The honest answer is "sometimes, if you plan for it and get lucky, but never just because of the EFC". We had an EFC=0 and son got to choose between full ride offers last year. The key is to apply to safety and match schools that offer extra aid to very strong candidates to cover loans and work study. UC schools, as someone else has mentioned, do that. </p>
<p>Don't let people tell you that only Ivies do this -- there are more and more good quality LACs that do as well. To have it work, you want your student to be an especially strong candidate at the schools you're applying to like this. </p>
<p>Folks frequently say "they're impossible", but they are possible, and I think it's possible to increase the possibility, but you can't ever guarantee that you will, just because of your EFC. (By the way, they're not just for URM's, either.)</p>