I recently got an email from filing the FAFSA stating my EFC was 12309. I’m really not sure what this number means. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Is this good? Bad?
It’s the amount the Colleges will expect you to contribute to your college education per year.
Not to say every college will make you pay that little, but that’s pretty much the MOST a college will give you via financial aid.
Most schools will make you pay more that your EFC. Schools that meet 100% need will have you pay 12309 per year, MAX.
No, no, no. FAFSA EFC really is only good to tell you what types of and how much federal aid (grants, loans and work study) you qualify for. Any school that meets 100% of demonstrated need will use other data to determine what the combined student/parent contribution is (with maybe one or two exceptions).
To the OP:
A FAFSA EFC of $12,309 means that you won’t qualify for a Pell grant. You should be eligible for subsidized federal loans and federal work study, depending on the funds that the school has available. Institutional need-based aid will be determined using other data (most likely CSS Profile) in conjunction with the FAFSA.
^ This. You can get a $5500 loan as a freshman.
Most schools that claim to meet 100% of need calculate EFC their own way, which can result in a different number from the FAFSA EFC. In addition, they will add an ESC (expected student contribution from student work and/or federal direct loans) to their calculated EFC to get the net price.
Use the net price calculator on each school’s web site to get an estimate for each school.
EFC is typically already composed of a parent contribution and a student contribution (based on the income and assets of parents and student); that’s why it’s Expected Family Contribution.
Awesome thanks for the help! Little nervous because family has already said they won’t pay for any but 12309 plus merit aid sounds not horrible. Planning to do vet school eventually
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Little nervous because family has already said they won't pay for any but 12309 plus merit aid sounds not horrible. Planning to do vet school eventually
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I don’t think you completely understand.
And where would you get the $12k from? Plus anything else you’re expected to pay?
If you’re planning on vet school, then you do NOT want loans for undergrad!
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ACT 30 (Writing 32) GPA: 95.2 UW 96.3 W Rank 10/133, involved in a whole bunch of really good ( perhaps even excellent) ECs from Boys State to Student Council VP to Tennis Captain, also really valuable internships at local Zoo ( have letter of rec from) and local large animal practice. I know my stats are a little low but I'm really hoping that due my interest in a certain field and Ag ties ( Agriculture science major) which CALS seems to really stress I will have a shot. Essays are nothing phenomenal, just re-emphasizing interest in Vet/ Ag field.
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No hooks to note, white male from low income family ( fee waivers etc). I am just really starting to stress about this, CALS is my number one but was discouraged from applyin
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???
How is it possible that a low income family would have an EFC of over $12,000??? A low income family would have a very low EFC…like 2000 or 3000 or ZERO
What is your family’s income? Assets? Number of children in household? Two parents??
What is your SAFETY school??? Which school do you know FOR SURE that you have ALL costs covered???
If your family won’t pay anything and you have a $12k+ EFC (via FAFSA), you may find that you don’t have any affordable schools. You can’t apply merit to that $12k EFC.
What is your home state?
@mom2collegekids
My families financial situation is, in a word, weird. Prior to last year, both had quite decent jobs. However, last year they were laid off/ quit and began a business. So our income from last year was quite literally nothing, but the year prior to that (which the fafsa also incorporates in) has some. Hence, we will be appealing to try and get EFC lower to better reflect more recent data. Home state is NY. Already accepted (RD) to Ithaca, a safety, awarded 20000/yr Presidents scholarship. Fee waivers and stuff come from this years free/reduced lunch and ACT waiver. Two parents, younger sibling starting college next year. Next years FAFSA will be quite a bit better for me as it has two years of little to no income, thats why I wasn’t all that worried.
Applied to Geneseo, Ithaca, Bucknell, Cornell, Denison, Bates, Dickinson, St. Law. My top schools are Cornell, Denison, and Bates.
Are you in a state that has a vet school? You need to keep costs down for UG so you can afford to get through vet school w/o lots of loans from UG too. Is there a commuter school available to you? You may not get enough FA/merit anywhere you want to attend as top schools or where you applied.
Huh? FAFSA only asks for income figures from one year.
Then your FAFSA EFC should be 0. This year’s FAFSA is using 2015’s income tax - last year’s.
Hm. Had to do some research there. Sorry, I’m not too familiar with the financial side of college applications. Yes, I was misunderstanding what the FAFSA was, sorry. 2015 has “bad” financial data ( salaries from parents) while 2016 has all “good” ( little income). So the 12,309 EFC reflects the 2015 salaries of my parents, but we will be appealing to try and get whatever governing body is in charge to take 2016 data into account. Because FAFSA pulls from two years back, my financial aid for the school year after next will reflect the little income in 2016. Apologies for any misunderstanding.
You have a class rank of < 10%. You can get free tuition from a SUNY with the STEM scholarship.
Better put some more SUNYs on the list.
@“Erin’s Dad” @BelknapPoint
True. But that would still be 12000 a year just from room and board right? My impression was that I could do similarly at a private institution.