<p>I'm sorry if this has already been asked but I am slightly confused. </p>
<p>When I filled out my FAFSA I was told my EFC was 40. Is that number in dollar amounts? Meaning that if I attend a school that meets full demonstrated need my family would only need to contribute forty dollars? Or is the 40 somehow converted to a dollar scale? </p>
<p>40 seems low, even considering tough financial situations. Thank you!</p>
<p>The EFC is used to determine your eligibility for federal aid. With an EFC of 40 you should be eligible for the Pell grant of around $5500. That is really the only federal grant you are guaranteed. The rest of federal aid consists of loans (that must be repaid) and/or work study. As a freshman you are eligible for $5500 in Stafford loans. Work study will depend on your school and how hey award WS. Your parents will be eligible for PLUS loans.</p>
<p>Unless you are attending a school that promises to meet full need without loans out of their own institutional money then you are likely to have to pay more than $40 (loans are you and your family paying, even if they call it financial aid).</p>
<p>Elizabeth, even schools that meet full demonstrated need generally require a student contribution of several thousand per year. Also, please remember that the FAFSA (or FM) EFC is not always the same as the Profile or IM EFC…FAFSA disregards home equity, retirement accounts and even assets for those that qualify under the simplified EFC formulas. A 100% need met school is unlikely to use only FAFSA in order to determine what they consider a fair EFC. And, as swimcatsmom said, student loans are considered to be part of “meeting need”…although parent loans are not.</p>
<p>No school that meets need uses only FAFSA to determine need. Try the schools’ own calculators for the best idea of what an aid package will look like.</p>
<p>^Clarification…no school that guarantees to meet need currently uses FAFSA only. Many school do meet 100% of need using only FAFSA…but they do not guarantee to do so. If your state has reasonably priced public schools, and a decent state aid program, I would strongly encourage you to apply to one or more (that you would actually be happy to attend) as financial safeties!</p>
<p>Elizabeth…what schools are you applying to?</p>
<p>Many schools that meet need use CSS Profile as well as FAFSA. </p>
<p>And…do you have a non-custodial parent?</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for the clarification I really appreciate your help! I am the first child in my family to attend college and the whole financial aid process is daunting to me and my parents. </p>
<p>mom2collegekids – I have applied to two state schools in which I will qualify for Florida’s Bright Futures program (UF and FSU) along with 11 out of state schools (Northwestern, Notre Dame, Loyola Chicago, UPenn, Villanova, Emerson, Northeastern, Auburn, Boston College, UNC, and American). I tried to apply to a variety of school so I could compare financial aid packages when I get my decisions. Northwestern is by far my top choice however. And no, I do not have a noncustodial parent. </p>
<p>Thank you to everyone again for your replies my parents and I both really appreciate it!</p>
<p>PROFILE OF 2009-10 FINANCIAL AID Freshmen: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY </p>
<p>Financial Aid Applicants 1,312 (61.7%) of freshmen
Found to Have Financial Need 1,048 (79.9%) of applicants
Received Financial Aid 1,048 (100.0%) of applicants with financial need
Need Fully Met 1,048 (100.0%) of aid recipients
Average Percent of Need Met 100%
Average Award $30,424
Need-Based Gift Received by 983 (93.8%) of aid recipients, average amount $27,968
Need-Based Self-Help Received by 899 (85.8%) of aid recipients, average amount $4,851
Merit-Based Gift Not reported
Merit-Based Gift Received by 116 (5.5%) of freshmen without need, average amount $2,785 </p>
<p>Hope you get accepted by Northwestern, best of luck !</p>
<p>Great list, elizabeth…you did a good job with it and will hopefully have multiple good offers to choose from. Good luck and let us know where you end up!</p>
<p>My mom and I just filled out my FAFSA and submitted CSS profile. With a total tuition of $54,000 - and $18,000 in grants and scholarships - plus the $5500 student loans, are my parents going to have to cover the difference? If I’ve already received a letter with all this info, is the FAFSA going to change anything? Thanks.</p>
<p>Thank you SLUMOM and sk8rmom! </p>
<p>I had just one more question now that I understand more about the FAFSA. What does an EFC of 40 mean? If my CSS profile is something similar is it considered a ‘good’ EFC in regards to receiving aid?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>
FAFSA will probably not change anything if the information you provided on CSS was pretty accurate. Schools that use CSS, use FAFSA to determine eligibility for federal aid and CSS to determine eligibility for institutional aid. To be eligible for federal grant aid requires a very low EFC (somewhere around 5200 or less). The school will have included any federal aid in the package they have offered you (for instance the $5500 Stafford loans are federal aid). So yes, your parents are expected to pay the balance.</p>
<p>Do you guys advise that I go ahead and do my FASFA now even though W-2s from last year haven’t came. I know I’ll have to do rough estimates using my mom’s 2009 tax return and last month paycheck. But is it even worth it to do it now if I’m still going to have to go back and correct things once I get the actual numbers. I really would like as much financial help as possible and I’m definately trying to stray away from loans but something tells me it will be inevitable.</p>
<p>Yes, do the FAFSA now using estimated numbers. It will ensure that the financial aid office has needed documents, and also take some pressure off your mom when it comes to doing her taxes. If you are able to update the FAFSA with the final numbers by the end of February or early March that will be plenty of time.</p>
<p>Many colleges have priority filing dates for financial aid - so if you wait to do your FAFSA you could end up getting less aid because you didn’t meet that earlier deadline.</p>
<p>Letsgetthisdone…It sounds like your income is too high for any “free” federal aid if your Syracuse “family contribution” is that high. </p>
<p>It sounds like your income is around 6 figures. The only fed aid you qualify for is loans and it sounds like the FA package already put the fed student loan in there.</p>
<p>Incomes have to pretty lowish to qualify for free federal grants.</p>
<p>thank you very much calmom; i’ll get on it asap :)</p>