I don’t understand the numbers on my efc. I got a 003766. what does that mean? Do is that my total tuition on how much I owe the school or that how much the government is paying me or am I wrong?
EFC is Expected Family Contribution, meaning that at some schools, that amount is all you have to pay and the financial aid will make up the difference. However, not every school “meets full need,” meaning at other schools, your financial aid may not be high enough and you may be expected to pay more than your EFC (or to find scholarships to close the gap, or whatever).
AND dont forget that MANY colleges include LOANS in their financial aid packages.
So you HAVE to scrutinize the entire package, line by line.
$35,000 worth of “aid” is not so great if $32,000 of that is comprised of loans- money that you will be charged 8% interest on and then HAVE to pay back.
This means that the minimum your family will be require to pay…the MINIMUM…will be about $3766. You will get about $2000 in Pell Grant money, and you will get a $5500 Direct loan.
Depending on your state, you might get additional need based grant money from your state.
Most schools do NOT meet need.
Where are you applying? Did you run the NPC on each school’s website?