<p>they give you an estimated family contribution..what does this exactly mean</p>
<p>FAFSA uses your financial information to come up with the EFC (there is a set formula). The school gets your EFC. Each school has their own COA (Cost Of Attendance) which is an averaged annual student cost made up of tuition/fees/books/room&board/miscellaneous/travel. The school takes your EFC away from their COA to determine your 'need'. So if your EFC is 9,000 and their COA is 20,000 then your need is 11,000.</p>
<p>Financial aid is based on the need of 11,000. But if you have any scholarships it reduces the need (EFC + scholarships + FA cannot exceed COA). So say you have 3000 in scholarships that is deducted from your need of 11,000 making it 8,000. The aid awarded is based on the school and it's policies (whether it meets full need and what it's funding is). Your need may be fully net and may consist of grants/loans/work study. If the school does not meet full need you may have a gap - ie your need may be 8000 - they may give you aid of 6000 leaving a 2000 gap.</p>
<p>Some schools (mainly private) also require css/profile or their own financial aid forms which generally ask for much more information than FAFSA. These schools use FAFSA for federal aid and their own forms for any institutional aid.</p>