EFC Number Nightmare

My families accountant couldn’t explain what the EFC number is, and so far my “research” on the internet has shown conflicting viewpoints on what EFC means. Some have said its the estimate of the min amount of $ you will contribute others have said it has nothing to do with it. Can someone clarify or post a link to an article that does. I got an EFC 005205, and one article said anything close to 005273 was awful so now I’m freaking out.

A ~$5k EFC just means you probably won’t get a Pell grant. You can still take the ~$5500/year federal student loan and qualify for merit and need based aid at colleges that offer them. Run the net price calculator on a few school websites to get a ballpark estimate of costs.

Can you find out how much the student’s parent(s) can afford to and are willing to pay each year for 4 years?

EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution. There are very few concrete facts that an EFC can tell you. They include:

  1. Eligibility for a Pell Grant
  2. Eligibility for a subsidized Stafford loan of $5,500. If you are not eligible for a subsidized loan, you can still take out an unsubsidized loan.
  3. Eligibility for certain state grants and loans, depending on your state.

Outside of those items (other posters more knowledgeable than I am may chime in if I omitted something), the EFC doesn’t really tell you very much. Each college uses the number differently.

@Brantley For a freshman the maximum subsidized federal loan is $3500, not $5500.

oops-- sorry. But I hope my reply gave the OP a general idea of what she’s dealing with.

I would not characterize a $5,205 EFC as a nightmare. That amount is possible by working part-time while in school and saving $100 per week. Definitely doable.

^Except that almost no schools guarantee to meet need based on FAFSA EFC.

An EFC of 5025 will net you the following:

A Pell Grant of $765 a year (half to be disbursed in the fall semester and the other half in the spring semester

https://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/attachments/GEN1601Attach.pdf

A $3500 subsidized loan
A $2000 unsubsidized loan

As others have mentioned, the overwhelming majority of FAFSA only schools do not meet 100% demonstrated need.

An EFC of $5025 means that this may be the least your family will have to pay for school.

You need to sit with your parents to come up with some financially feasible and affordable options.
You may also need to look at schools where you are a viable candidate for merit $$

How much are your parents willing to pay/borrow in order for you to attend college?

Can this family use the net price calculators on the college websites to see what the net costs might be at each school?

EFC is the Expected Family Contribution. It is the minimum you can expect to pay out of pocket. Most likely you will pay more. It determines your eligibility for some items (already listed in prior posts).

According to your EFC you will be expected to come up with a minimum (again, I stress minimum most likely higher) of $5205 towards your college costs. Most schools do not meet full need or even come close to it. And those that do meet “full need” use the CSS Profile which digs further into your assets and usually results in a larger EFC.

Also, keep in mind that any help you do get will most likely include loans and workstudy so it’s not all free money (if you even get it).

So as stated above, in many ways, the EFC doesn’t mean much at all.

ETA: To get a real sense of what you would pay at each college, use the Net Price Calculator. It will show you want aid you are likely to get (but even that is not a guarantee).

Also, working more than 10 hrs while a full time student is not advisable.

In the summers you can work more. Also your parents might qualify for an education credit, AOTC of up to $2500, but that gets claimed for up to $4,000 in out-of pocket qualified education expenses, after you pay them.

I worked 30-40 hours a week while attending school full-time and was on the Dean’s List. It can be done if you want it badly enough. Priorities.


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My families accountant couldn't explain what the EFC number is, and so far my "research" on the internet has shown conflicting viewpoints on what EFC means. Some have said its the estimate of the min amount of $ you will contribute others have said it has nothing to do with it. Can someone clarify or post a link to an article that does. I got an EFC 005205,

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I find it rather odd that a family with an EFC of 5200 has an accountant. Does your family own a business?

<<<
are
GPA: 3.49
Top 15%
New SAT 1280/1600
US Subject 780
Lit Subject 630
Apush, Euro, Psyc, Gov’t, Lang, and Lit (4’s and 5’s)
NHS Co-chair
History club co-chair
Community Service club president
Environmental group student coordinator
Disablility Soccer Camp coach
Science Fair Honorable mention
2 School academic awards
1 district academic award for history
2 state academic awards for history

ideally I would go to school in MA or DC but based off naviance and admissions profiles my stats are too low for BU, NE, Tufts, GWU, American and the other good schools.

My stats would also make other options like the Umasses, Emmanuel, Suffolk, etc safeties for me


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What is your home state???

Does your family have a business??

HOw much will your parents pay each year?

A school is NOT a safety unless you know that you have all costs covered. Do you?