<p>People tend to think that the EFC will equal the price that the school will charge. That is not true. It is equal to the minimum that parents will be assumed to be able to pay, but not the maximum that the schools are able to charge.</p>
<p>Say that you change your EFC to 45K but your child chooses to attend a school that costs 57K. The school can still bill you for the 57K.</p>
<p>Your best bet is to look at schools that offer guaranteed merit scholarships. My kid found a school that took an automatic 80% off her tuition, and because we qualified for need based in addition, gave us that as well. She then worked as an RA her sophomore year in exchange for free room and board which, after federal loans, left her a balance of $0 to attend a $47K per year school.</p>