<p>When completing the CSS Profile, how much do colleges realistically expect parents to indicate they will contribute? Do the schools look at the EFC to consider that amount?</p>
<p>I put a little less than our EFC. I didn’t know how we were going to come up with the EFC ( but we did) but unless your family doesn’t even need aid- I think that is probably a fair guess to what they expect.</p>
<p>The instructions state to list the amount you expect to be able to contribute without taking loans. I ended up putting a number below our FAFSA EFC because of that. In Chany’s book “Paying For College Without Going Broke” he suggests you put a number 20% less than the “institutional methodology” expected contribution you can calculate using the forms in his book.</p>