<p>I'm sort of new to the financial aid process. My FAFSA application was recently processed. My SAR shows my EFC. was my SAR also supposed to show my need?</p>
<p>Should I also inform schools that my application was processed? </p>
<p>I am also applying a scholarship where the student's financial aid statement is needed. Does this mean I just have print out the page where it shows my EFC?</p>
<p>So am I, but the SAR is only supposed to show your EFC and the schools you put on your FAFSA will receive your SAR and from there they will send you their financial aid statement based on your need.</p>
<p>The SAR cannot show your need. Need is calculated as Cost of Attendance (COA) minus EFC. Since the colleges themselves determine COA, each school's COA is different, and FAFSA has nothing to do with it, the SAR does not even attempt to make that calculation.</p>
<p>The schools you listed on the FAFSA will get the FAFSA. You do not need to notify them.</p>
<p>You need to check the instructions for the scholarship to determine what information the scholarship committee wants. They may want the printout of the entire FAFSA; they may want another form; they may want your tax returns for the prior year; they may want something else. Follow the instructions. If you don't understand the instructions, contact the sponsor.</p>
<p>Please understand as well that many colleges use financial information in addition to FAFSA's EFC to determine your need. Some use the CSS Profile, which considers assets and income not considered by FAFSA. Others use their own additional forms. Your FAFSA EFC and your EFC as calculated by colleges may be very different.</p>
<p>Also realize that most schools do not meet 100% of need. You may be "gapped" regardless of what your EFC is. For example, let's say that a school that doesn't promise 100% of need has a COA of $20,000. Your EFC is $2,000. You are awarded $10,000 in FA in the form of grants, loans and work-study. You now have a $7,000 "gap" between the aid you're awarded and the amount you need. You must then find a way to fill that gap, probably with additional loans, if you want to attend that school.</p>