“When you complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you’ll be asked to submit tax information so that FAFSA has record of your previous year’s income. For most of you, your parents will also be uploading their financial information. One way this information is used is to determine your Expected Financial Contribution (EFC).
What is the EFC and how is it determined?” …
http://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/223919/The-Truth-About-Your-EFC
Filing the FAFSA does 2 things: It allows students who qualify access to federal student loans (~$5500/year), and it generates a federal EFC. Families whose EFC falls within federal limits qualify for a Pell grant of up to ~$5k/year.
Colleges calculate their own EFC based on their own formulas. The difference between the cost of attendance and this EFC is the student’s “need.” At schools that require only the FAFSA, students may be gapped a lot because these colleges generally don’t meet need. Many colleges require the CSS Profile (or their own financial aid form) which looks more deeply into a family’s finances. Unless these colleges guarantee to meet need, students will likely be gapped there too.
The federal EFC tells you whether or not you qualify for a Pell grant. The EFC generated by a college tells you the minimum you can expect to pay there. Families should run the FAFSA4caster to see if they might qualify for a Pell grant and the Net Price Calculator on each school website to get an estimate of costs.
How old is this article? The FAFSA now uses prior prior tax year.
It’s current, just grossly misinformed… and not just on that point.
It’s unfortunate that “experts” post misinformation like this.
ETA: Actually I just read through the rest of the article. Not only is it bad information, it’s potentially economically dangerous information to give to students and parents. No, no, no on so many levels.
Like seriously? No. October now.
What is FAFA? If it’s supposed to be FAFSA, FAFSA DOES NOT AWARD AID.
HUH?! NO!
Who is this “ULoop Guest Writer?” And how much disservice will it do to kids and parents seeing it on CC?
"The total amount of Federal Financial Aid you qualify for is essentially the total cost of attendance for your school, minus the EFC. " On what planet?
Maybe OP should stick to posting less harmful clickbait… like “10 Reasons Why College Sucks” or “Worst College Food In America”… yeah, great content you’re pushing there, Dave.