<p>If say your EFC was $15,000, then would your parents be expected to pay approx. this amount no matter how many outside scholarships you get or how many college scholarships you get?
Also, do colleges allow outside scholarships to be used in any way you want as long as its for your education? such as room/board, books, etc.</p>
<p>anyone???/////</p>
<p>ok im not an expert on this topic but i can give you what i think.</p>
<p>your efc can change depending on the finaid policy at the school and your merits. some schools only give need based aid and others give both merit aid and need based. so if you have outstanding act/sat schools and gpa then you would get a considerable amount of merit aid.</p>
<p>the scholarship thing also depends on what school you are talking about. some schools will just add it to your package and others will just take away that amount in what they are giving you.</p>
<p>i hope i answered your question</p>
<p>There are two different types of AID - merit based (scholarships) and need based (grants/loans/work study). </p>
<p>For need based aid if your EFC is 15,000 it is deducted from the school COA (Cost Of Attendance) to determine your need. So if the COA is $25,000 then your 'need' is $10,000. A need based financial aid package is based on the 'need' figure of 10,000. The aid may consist of grants (that do not have to be repaid), loans and Work Study. Many schools do not meet full need so you may have a 'gap'. For instance your 'need' is 10,000 but you may be awarded only 8,000. Merit scholarships will generally reduce your need not your EFC especially where federal aid is involved. Most schools will reduce loans and work study before they reduce grants. (this is what happened to us). Normally Scholarships will only reduce the EFC when there is no 'need'.</p>
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Also, do colleges allow outside scholarships to be used in any way you want as long as its for your education? such as room/board, books, etc.
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<p>Depends on the scholarship and the school. My daughter has one that is specifically for tuition so can only be used for that. Another can be used for anything. In practice her scholarships and financial aid are all credited to her bursar account. The charges are charged to the account. If the charges exceed the credits we owe them money. If the credits exceed the charges they pay her a refund. (This happens because certain estimated costs in the COA may not be payed directly to the school - for instance books, travel expenses, room and board when she moves off campus - so the difference is refunded to her).</p>
<p>With the exception of one school that my d applied to, we were told outside scholarships will be used to cover need. First loans, then work-study and finally to reduce any grant or scholarship. I read on one site (don't remember) the calculation is COA-outside or merit scholarships-EFC is need. They do not reduce your EFC. We were told nothing reduces your EFC. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>then I feel like scholarships were a waste since I have no loans or workstudy.</p>
<p>You've got it right, in your case, outside scholarships will replace your need based grants, not your EFC. However, you should check with your school to find out what happens once they've replaced all of your need based aid. They may just write you a check for the remaining scholarship money, which could then be used towards your EFC. </p>
<p>Every school is different, but for instance, my D has a full ride scholarship from her college, but also received outside scholarships. The outside scholarship money comes into the school and is added to her account, and each semester, she receives a check for the amount above her COA. She can then use that money for anything she wants, educational or otherwise. However, the outside scholarship money is taxable if it is not used for qualified educational expenses.</p>
<p>You shouldn't feel like it was a waste to apply for outside scholarships, as there is no way of knowing how much FA you will receive and in what form. Unfortunately, outside scholarships are often thought of as a panacea for high college costs, and in many cases they are not.</p>