<p>I completed the FAFSA and have an EFC of $13000. I am a transfer applicant (from a community college) and am well aware that schools do not have as much money for transfers usually. </p>
<p>I am applying to Wesleyan, NYU, and UT. I have contacted Wes and NYU and found out that they are need-blind with regards to admission (so they say). But I know NYU is not too good with aid for freshman, so I imagine it's even worse for transfers. Wesleyan, on the other hand, is usually quite generous.</p>
<p>Anyways, that doesn't matter too much as my parents and I were ready to take out loans to cover the entire cost for two yeras before we filled out the FAFSA. We just wanted to get financial help if possible, and I suppose with our EFC we will be getting something. </p>
<p>I looked into Wes and they meet 100% of aid - 77% through grants and such and around 23% through loans. NYU is much worse meeting around 45% through loans. Again, not a big deal, I was just wondering - what exactly did the FAFSA do for me then? Will I probably receive a PELL grant? And what is a Direct Loan from the Dept. of Education? Does that mean I may be fortunate enough to receive my loan from the government? </p>
<p>Sorry if these questions are dumb; I'm just confused.</p>
<p>EFC is the government's estimate of how much your family can afford to pay for your College each year. It's not how much your family will ACTUALLY pay. IN your case, it's $13K.</p>
<p>Each school takes that number (some schools also use the Profile, which will give a somewhat different number), and uses it to offer an aid package. They estimate the total Cost of Attendance (COA) including tuition, fees, room/board, books, miscellaneous expenses, and sometimes transportation and health care. The COA minus the EFC = your financial need.</p>
<p>Each school you're accepted to will put together a finaid package that covers most (sometimes all) of the financial need. The package will include loans, grants, and probably work study.</p>
<p>So you're on the right track by looking at the stats for each college, figuring what % of need they meet, and what the breakdown is between grants and loans. NYU, for example, isn't known for being generous.</p>
<p>You won't be eligible for a Pell grant with an EFC as high as $13K.</p>
<p>Let's say you apply for a college that estimates COA at $43K. They meet 90% of need, in this hypothetical example. So they put together a finaid package worth .90 (43K - 13K) = $2700, leaving a "gap" of 10% of $4,300. And the $2700 might include 8 K in student loans, 16K in grants, and 3K in work study. So you'd pay for college with 8K in loans and $17K out of pocket, plus work for 3K during the year (in this example).</p>
<p>Hey, My EFC was 0. Is that like a mistake or something? We definitely aren't rich, but i don't know. That was surprising. What can I expect with an EFC of 0?</p>
<p>NYU is not very generous with aid, and you won't be eligible for any federal grants. My EFC was $4673 and my SAR indicated that my EFC was too high for any federal grants... go figure</p>