<p>Hi,</p>
<p>When I submitted FAFSA for my son today, it displayed an EFC number-</p>
<p>Your estimated Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is: 51811</p>
<p>How reliable and accurate is that? Is any aid possible as I can't see how would it expect us to pay $51K?</p>
<p>Thanks
Ravi</p>
<p>It depends on your school. There is usually merit aid, and you can always apply for need based aid if you have multiple siblings in college. Also, the CSS profile and institutional methodology may give you something very different. My Institutional EFC and Federal EFC were $5000 different, with IM being lower.</p>
<p>If nothing else, by filing you are eligible for an unsubsidized Stafford loan. As Irishthunder says, you can look for schools with merit aid you may qualify for (though it's late to do that now.) It's also possible that, as said above, if there are multiple siblings in college, then the EFC will be split and each of yours will be lowered.</p>
<p>Otherwise, an EFC that high means substantial income, assets, or both, and need-based aid will be unlikely.</p>
<p>As others have noted...the EFC computed by the FAFSA is for federal funding primarily but the information on that form is also used by schools that do not use other financial aid forms (e.g. Profile or the own form) to award institutional need based aid. If your EFC on the FAFSA is $50K plus...it is not likely that you will get need based aid. BUT you might qualify for merit aid at some schools and there are many schools that require this form even for merit aid (so that they know if you qualify for federal money...which they probably would award FIRST).</p>
<p>If your EFC is that high, your income is probably around $200k/year or you have a ton of money in the bank/investments. You will be eligible for unsubsidized Stafford loans (amount varies by year in school) and parent PLUS loans. Other than that, you should focus on schools with merit aid. There is a possibility you could get some institutional need based aid (depending on your personal situation), but that is a slim chance ... worth it to try, of course. But the best advice in your situation is to look for schools with merit opportunities.</p>