<p>What aid will be made available to me with an EFC of $6000? Also do public schools view the EFC differently than private schools?</p>
<p>it is too high for federal grant aid (the EFC cut off for the Pell was 5200 ish this year). The student will be eligible for the direct/stafford loan (up to $5500 for a dependent freshman student). Any other aid would depend on your state (some states offer need based grants to students staying in state), and the school (if they offer institutional need based aid, not all do). Not all schools promise to meet need.</p>
<p>Private schools will also vary as far as aid policies. A few promise to meet full need without loans. These schools will generally require much more financial information to determine eligibility for their own funds. Others promise to meet need but may include a lot of loans. Others do not promise to meet need.</p>
<p>What schools give in aid will vary tremendously.</p>
<p>Be prepared for most schools to expect you to pay much more than your EFC for the actual family portion…</p>
<p>Is EFC considered the total family contribution? In other words are student loans included as part of the family contribution?</p>
<p>Nope, EFC is what a family is expected to pay out of pocket, after the complete FA package is deducted from the cost of attendance. </p>
<p>Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using CC App</p>
<p>EFC is the MINIMUM amount your family should expect to be paying out of pocket after all financial aid awards have been made. MOST colleges do NOT meet full need. This means that you will not get sufficient financial aid at MOST schools to cover the Cost of Attendance minus your aid. In other words…there will be a “gap” which you will also need to fund.</p>
<p>In addition. the vast majority of school include loans as part of their financial aid packaging. It’s not all “free money”.</p>
<p>In other words, a 50k school probably won’t be giving you 44k in aid. Or, 38.5k plus your $5500 Stafford loans. Likely, much less in free money. And, $1500-2000 of work study.</p>
<p>A private school will likely require the CSS Profile forms, which detail more about your family’s assets. This can lead to a different calculation of the family contribution. </p>
<p>Many public schools simply don’t have all that free money to offer inthe first place, no matter what the Fafsa EFC. </p>
<p>The Fafsa EFC is just a starting point. You have to look at the actual web sites for finaid at the colleges you have in mind. Some have finaid calculator programs. And, you can see which publics and privates might possibly offer you merit aid.</p>
<ul>
<li>I notice you’ve posted a number of FA questions- really suggest you check finaid.org for some good background.</li>
</ul>
<p>Does medical expenses change the EFC?</p>
<p>if you have high medical expenses unreimbursed by insurance, you can ask the school for a professional judgement adjustment to reflect the expenses. (the expenses would have to exceed the amount already allowed in the income protection allowance for medical expanses). If the school agrees to an adjustment (it is at their discretion), they can adjust the income to reflect the expenses, then a new EFC will be calculated.</p>
<p>Karenanne, it’s good that you are asking questions. So many people just assume and then are blindsided. But, I notice you asked over several threads and am wondering if you did get to look at a website like finaid.org. So much is covered there, including medical expenses and how schools might review them, “professional judgment,” siblings in college, common errors, CSS Profile and assets, etc. Good luck. It’s mindbending. But, finaid.org is a great resource.</p>
<p>My EFC would be well below zero (unreimbursed medical expenses exceed $6000 by over 4 times). What would that do to financial aid?</p>
<p>Like others were trying to explain it depends on the school. You will have to go to the school and ask for a professional judgement and provide plenty of supporting documentation that you have paid the bills. Some schools may adjust your efc others may not. You would probably have more luck getting a pj at a css profile school then a fafsa only school.</p>
<p>You have to read the website finaid.org. That’s far better than a question here and there on CC. I believe “Profesional Judgment” is after you have a school identified, you’ve filled out the FA forms, your kid is accepted, etc. When you have a college identified, you can ask them- how would you want me to get this info to you? When? They will let you know. But, first you have to have your ducks in a row- read that website. Since one of the things you are also trying to figure is- who IS likely to give us the aid we need- all the more reason to read that site. It’s truly one of the ways many of us here learned.</p>
<p>
If a school does a professional adjustment, they do not reduce the EFC dollar for dollar by the amount of the medical expenses. They reduce your *income * that you reported on FAFSA by the amount of the approved medical expenses (just for the year). Then your income and assets are run through the EFC formula again to produce a new EFC.</p>