EFC or Gap?

Hi. I have FA packages from 3 Profile schools and none of them give my EFC, just a bottom line cost after aid. Is there a way to determine if the cost IS my EFC, or whether I have been gapped? Before I request a FA review I would like to know if I am asking for my EFC to be reevaluated or whether I am asking for more generous aid to narrow a gap. Thank you.

Did you run the NPC for those schools?

Cost of attendance -EFC = demonstrated need

What is the school and the cost of attendance?
What is your financial aid package?
Subtract your package from your COA, you will get your EFC

Some letters will tell you straight out the parent contribution and the student contribution. Remember your FAFSA EFC is only going to be used to determine your eligibility for federal aid. Your schools may give you an EFC that is higher than your FAFSA EFC.

Thank you. I do have a solid understanding of FA packages, but my experience with my older S was with “meet full need schools” so I did not have to consider gaps with him. @sybbie719 I have FA packages from FAFSA only schools and they all list my EFC, (even though none of them are meeting it) so it is clear what the gap is.

I understand that is what I pay, but what about the gap?

@sportman88 The NPCs give me a cost, but again not an EFC so I can’t determine the gap from that.

Contact the schools and specifically ask what the EFC is, for parent and student contributions.

No school will "meet your EFC " because you are responsible for paying your EFC.

Most FAFSA only schools don’t meet 100% demonstrated need. The gap is the part of your “need” that has not been met.
If the COA is 20000 and you have a 5000 EFC then your demonstrated need is $15000. If you get a financial aid package that is $10,500 ( including the 5500 Stanford loan) you have a gap of $ 4500

The net price will be $15k ( your 5k EFC, the 5.5 k loan and the 4.5 Gap)

If you take the 5.5k loan then you have to pay 9.5 k


I meant meeting it, as in giving aid up to it...I guess I am not communicating very effectively.

I know that COA less aid is what we pay. I know what EFC is and what gapping is. My question is, how do I find out what portion of our family cost is EFC and how much we have been gapped? I seems that is not information that the schools have provided.

As I initially stated, I want to request reconsideration. If the full amount is EFC the conversation is different than if it is part EFC/part gap.

Why is it different? You cannot afford to pay $XX to attend school Z. You would like then to reconsider your FA package because of X,Y and Z.

@sybbie719 - You are misunderstanding the OP’s question. The OP is not asking about a “full need met school” so they are asking how to find out if their net cost they are seeing IS their EFC or if there is a GAP between their need They want to know if they are looking at:

net cost = COA - FA (true at full need’s school so i n this case net cost == EFC and FA=need)
net cost = COA-FA+Gap (FA + Gap is full need)

For example if the net cost is $40k and COA is $60K they want to know is $40K their actual EFC, or is their EFC maybe only $20K and they are gapped by $20k.

OP - I don’t know how to answer it if it’s not listed on the FA paperwork. I guess you just have to ask.

Edited to clarify FA instead of “need” - “Need” is really FA+Gap in second equation…and “Need” should equal FA in first equation (at meets need schools)

Gap in aid is what is left do you to pay…taking COA minus the aid you have been given minus your FAFSA EFC (you don’t get aid for that unless it is merit aid).

So as an example…ill use my real example.

This was 2006

COA was $52,000
Aid was $6000 grant and $5500 Direct Loan.
FAFSA EFC was $22,000.

Our family was left to pay $40,500 of which $22,000 was our FAFSA EFC.

So true “gap” was $18500.

But really…what does that matter? What should matter to you is your net cost.

@thumper1 - but with a CSS Profile school (OP said these are profile schools) the EFC is NOT the FAFSA EFC and so the OP still doesn’t know what the EFC is.

Run the NPC on the school’s web sites. That’s the closest you’ll get to knowing what each school considers your family contribution (I don’t want to use EFC since that is a FAFSA term)

I’m not sure why the OP needs to KNW the actual school calculated family contribution. In reality…that is what is whatever is left after aid has been subtracted from the cost of attendance.

Net cost…the OP needs to concern herself with net cost. That is really what matters at the end of the day.

I guess I wonder why the OP is so concerned with the Profile school family contribution cost. Why would that matter?

They probably won’t do much to lower your EFC if their formula calculated it, unless you have special circumstances, but they might be able to find a bit more aid in grant form or merit for you.

I would worry though how this would play out in future years with cost increases and possibly income increases.

Not sure why either. OP seems to think that it’s a different conversation with the FA office depending on whether they’ve been gapped.

Well, just as a matter of curiosity if nothing else, I would want to know how close the school came to meeting what they thought my need was. At a meets-full-need school, there should be no gap, and anything the family is left to pay should be the EFC as calculated by the school. But if the school does not pledge to meet full need and also does not disclose in the FA award letter what the EFC was determined to be, I can understand how there would be questions about how much of what is left to pay is EFC (as calculated by the school) and how much has been gapped.

Edited to add: if asking a college to increase their aid, I would want to know whether I was asking for a gap to be closed, or for my EFC to be reconsidered and hopefully reduced. I think knowing that information makes a difference in how the conversation would be started.

While I realize the FAFSA EFC is not the same as that calculated by Profile schools…I think I would just start there.

COA minus Aid minus FAFSA EFC…would give you at least a ballpark of the gap…like in my example above.

Depending on your situation, that could be a large ballpark. My kids go to profile schools their school EFCs are very different from FAFSA EFCs.

Yes!!

Which is what I asked in my OP:

I don’t have extenuating circumstances to ask for reconsideration of my EFC, but if I knew the extent of the gap I would take a run at asking for a more generous package.

Apparently the information is not made available…perhaps just for that reason.

@planner03

If your kiddo has. Top choice, and you would like to ask for reconsideration…go ahead and do so. Explain that the school is your kiddo’s top choice but that the finances are not quite where they need to be for him to attend. Ask if this can be reconsidered.

Either the school will say yes…or no to this request. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

But I would suggest that your student plan to matriculate to this school if they give you a new, more favorable package.

Some schools will review, and others simply will not. Just ask. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a gap, or your EFC for that school. You are requesting additional funds.

But really…what’s wrong with using the FAFSA EFC as a guide?