<p>My EFC says 4000 </p>
<p>it says i may be eligible for these:
pell grant is 1500
direct stafford loan is 5500</p>
<p>and may be eligible for other grants, scholarships, loans</p>
<p>My family earns about 34,000 a year. Did I get a generous portion? i have no idea</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is what you are eligible for based on your filing of the FAFSA. Your college(s) will send you your financial aid award. They will include this amount of the Pell Grant and this amount of the Stafford loan. Hopefully the financial aid offers will also include some other kinds of aid from your school(s).</p>
<p>How much will your college(s) cost? That will determine whether your aid is “good” or not. If your school is only going to cost you $7000 for they year, then the portion of the Pell you will receive plus the Stafford loan will cover your costs.</p>
<p>Your EFC is the rough estimate of the portion your family will be expected to contribute to your college costs. You are eligible for a grant from the government of $1500. You are eligible for a subsidized LOAN (you have to pay it back) of $5500 from the government. Any other aid you may receive (not guaranteed) will be in the form of grants, scholarships and loans from the colleges you applied to. You will probably qualify for a work-study job on campus as well - this is a job that you get paid for during the school year, it doesn’t come off of your bill, it’s just money you get to earn to help you pay for expenses.</p>
<p>well anywhere from 20k to like 40k. So i will get the grant and loan, and possibly my college will give me some other kind of aid?</p>
<p>As others have stated, it depends on what your school is able to do for you with these numbers. Hopefully you have applied to a variety of schools, with at least one or two within commuting distance to keep costs low.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Only a maximum of $3500 will have an interest subsidy, the other $2K will be unsubsidized.</p>
<p>A low EFC does not automatically mean you will get lots of scholarships and grants. Colleges can for example give lots of loans ($40,000 in loans including the Parent Plus), you may not be able to really get them or afford them.</p>
<p>Some schools limit the amount of loans or meet all demonstrated need. Others don’t. A lot depends on the school you apply and your stats. If you have good scores, good GPA, extra curricular etc., the package may have more grants and less loans. Schools may admit you but if you are less attractive to them, the aid package may not be good.</p>
<p>When you have a lot need, you need to apply to a fair number of schools and have some financial safeties like bchan1 has said. Two schools may give you totally different packages, even though your EFC and your stats are the same.</p>
<p>the amounts on your SAR from the fafsa is only a report of what you are eligible for from the government. this means, when it comes to government funds, your school can give you up to that amount. You may still get aid from other sources such as the school and private donors. it all depends on what school you go to and how much scholarships and aid you already have.</p>
<p>Your EFC is too high for your income, please check your figures.
If your parent(s) can file a 1040A, then have them do that and check the correct box on the FAFSA.</p>