<p>I'm still a little iffy about the exact implications for EFC.
I know that if your EFC is 10,000, then your family only pays 10,000 to tuition each year. And if the college you're going to costs 50,000, then you get 40,000 in financial aid.</p>
<p>But my question is: how is this 40,000 aid package dealt with?</p>
<p>Is that just free money you get from the state/the school? Or does that mean loans will count in the 40,000 package too?</p>
<p>NO… that is not how it works.</p>
<p>EFC ONLY determines eligibility for federal aid.</p>
<p>Her is how it works: you subtract your EFC from thee school’s cost of attendance. If it is a positive number, you are eligible to take federally subsidized loans and to be given work study (a federally subsidized job with an hourly wage) at your college</p>
<p>If it is a negative number – for example, COA = $40K, EFC = $41K – then you are not eligible for any aid.</p>
<p>If is a low number, probably about $5200 or less (I don’t know exactly) – then you are eligible for federal Pell grant as well. The maximum amount of a Pell grant is roughly $4500; I think the maximum subsidized Stafford loan for the first year is $3500; there is also something called a Perkins loan that is made to some students but not all, which is subsidized and I think the maximum is around $4000; and the highest work study allowance I’ve seen is about $4000-$5000, but higher for that is not necessarily better because it means more hours working, and there is no guarantee that there will be enough jobs or hours available to allow all students do earn their full awards. </p>
<p>So in your example, it could very well be that you get $3500 in subsidized loans and $2500 in work study, and nothing else. </p>
<p>Again: EFC does not determine your college cost - it is ONLY used to determine aid eligibility. The point is simply that the federal government chooses not to give subsidies or grants to students if, under their formula, the student’s family is able to afford the the college costs without help.</p>
<p>Some colleges are very generous with their own financial aid and will give you grants (college money) that will make up the difference – most are NOT. You will need to carefully research the financial aid practices of each college you apply to.</p>
<p>Oh my goodness!</p>
<p>that’s not what EFC means. EFC is a misleading name. It wrongly suggests that that’s all a family has to pay. Wrong!</p>
<p>EFC is just a number that colleges use to see if you qualify for any (small) federal aid.</p>
<p>With an EFC of $10k, that is too much for free federal aid.</p>
<p>At most, you’d qualify for is a small $5500.00 student loan and maybe a couple thousand in work study in FEDERAL aid.</p>
<p>Most schools do NOT meet need. Most schools have very little money to give.</p>
<p>Some schools have some institutional money to give, but again, many of them can’t meet need, either. </p>
<p>Most schools will gap you and expect your family to pay more. </p>
<p>Where have you applied?</p>
<p>Obviously, if you are gapped, parents will have to decide whether they can afford to cover that gap with family funds or by them (parents) taking out a loan. Many parents cannot or will not do that because of affordability. </p>
<p>Also, many privates that give good aid, require your family to also fill out CSS Profile to determine a “family contribution.”</p>
<p>Okay okay thanks guys forreal. </p>
<p>So just making sure.</p>
<p>If my EFC is 10,000, that DOES NOT mean that I’m only paying 10,000. It is just what colleges use to determine how much I am given?</p>
<p>And so, I might have to pay more than my EFC?</p>
<p>And I’ve applied to Northwestern, Harvard, Duke, Stanford, U Chicago, USC, and a bunch of UCs.</p>
<p>All of your schools other than the UCs meet 100% of need. But they don’t just use FAFSA to assess need, they are all CSSProfile schools.</p>
<p>This means they well cover all of your demonstrated need the rough loans ( some are no loan), work study and grants.</p>
<p>*If my EFC is 10,000, that DOES NOT mean that I’m only paying 10,000. It is just what colleges use to determine how much I am given?</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>It is used to determine how much FEDERAL aid you are given…and with an EFC of $10k, that means small loans and maybe work study. No free federal aid.</p>
<p>*And I’ve applied to Northwestern, Harvard, Duke, Stanford, U Chicago, USC, and a bunch of UCs. *</p>
<p>Most of those schools ALSO require that you fill out CSS Profile…which the schools will use to determine their own EFC. </p>
<p>At UCs…aid can be iffy with that EFC. Is your family income under $70? If so, you could get Blue and Gold.</p>
<p>“It is used to determine how much FEDERAL aid you are given…and with an EFC of $10k, that means small loans and maybe work study. No free federal aid.”</p>
<p>But since i’m in California, I can get CalGrants though correct?</p>
<p>So the federal government gives me loans, work study, etc. But California gives me CalGrants?</p>
<p>And yeah I filled out CSS too. How is CSS different from FAFSA - other than the fact that CSS is for private schools and FAFSA is just in general?</p>
<p>And no my income is above 70k</p>
<p>Yes, CA gives you the CalGrant, but you have to be fairly low income to qualify. I believe you can make up to $90k if you have a family of 6 or more. Mid 70s for a family of 4.</p>
<p>Profile counts things that FAFSA does notnlike equity in your primary home, non custodial parent income and assets and things concerning small business owners. Many if not most have a higher EFC when Profile is used.</p>
<p>Cal Grant also looks at family assets, so you may or may not qualify – you’ll have to check their current income and asset limits to figure that out. </p>
<p>If your parents own their home and have a lot of equity, it could make a big difference in aid from some of the Profile schools – you could easily have a $10,000 EFC on FAFSA but $25,000 on Profile once the home value is counted in.</p>
<p>Just to clarify the federal aid info posted above:</p>
<p>Pell grant eligibility requires an EFC of $5273 or less (for 10/11) and the maximum Pell grant is $5550, which requires an EFC of 0. Stafford loans are available to all FAFSA filers and the undergrad limits are $5500 for freshmen, $6500 for sophomores, and $7500 for juniors/seniors. The split between subsidized/unsubsidized is determined by the student’s remaining need after all other financial aid is applied - the maximum amount of subsidized that can be offered in a given year is $2K under the Stafford loan limit. </p>
<p>Perkins loans are campus-based and usually have limited funding. They are always subsidized loans, with a fixed interest rate of 5%. If your school offers you a Perkins loan, you should consider taking it before you take an unsub Stafford as the interest rates and other terms are more favorable. There is another federal grant called SEOG, but that also has limited funding and is campus based, so the amounts offered vary widely, and it is generally only offered to those with very low EFCs.</p>
<p>Your FA package may include any of the above, plus work-study, state aid, and institutional aid. Your school will assume you want any “free money”, such as grants and scholarships. You will have the opportunity to accept, modify, or decline any “self-help” offered, aka loans and work study. As calmom said, work study is simply a ceiling for earnings you can receive by finding and working at a work-study job at school so more is not necessarily better. Many students can work around 10-15 hours per week without impacting their studies but it depends on your study/time management skills and courseload. Work-study jobs generally pay around $7.50 per hour and are taxable wages, but are not subject to the normal SS/Medicare witholding taxes and will not impact your federal EFC for the following year.</p>
<p>Also CalGrants can only be used in CA. If you do qualify for one you would’nt be able to take it to any of those out of state schools.</p>