I got a 005353. What does this mean? Will I get a Pell Grant? Will I get good Financial aid???
EFC = Estimate Family Contribution
$5,353 is what your parents are expected to pay per year for your education.
Whether you receive good financial aid depends on if you submitted your fafsa on time, total income, etc.
Use the net calculators on the school websites to provide financial aid estimate.
^ So much wrong here.
OP, You are right on the edge of qualifying for a Pell Grant but even if you do it would be for <$100. You will ONLY get good FA from a school that has good FA available (like one that meets need). At a public U you would most likely just qualify for a $5500 loan. The EFC is the MINIMUM your parents will be expected to pay for school (at a school that meets need). What schools are you looking at? What is your home state? What are your grades and scores?
What exactly is wrong about what I posted?
I posted three things. What EFC was, which is right. The estimated family contribution, which can be met through multiple ways.
I posted how one gets financial aid, which was right. Lower income means higher chance at getting financial aid. Students could be eligible for blue and gold from a UC if they submit their fafsa on time. I can keep going.
The final thing I posted was the net calculator, which was also right.
I did not go into specifics and just spoke in a general aspect. But thanks for trying to discredit what I said Erin’s father. 
Your EFC is an index score that determines whether or not you are eligible for a Pell grant as well as a few other forms of federal or state aid. In spite of it standing for “estimated family contribution,” you cannot take that phrase literally. As @“Erin’s Dad” said, that is minimum you will be expected to contribute out of pocket, most likely after federal loans have already been applied. More often than not, your family will need to come up with more.
You are just over the edge for a Pell grant (min EFC of 5198), so no, you will not get one.
You will not know what kind of overall aid you will receive until colleges send you an aid package. You can run each college’s NPC to get an estimate. That estimate should be fairly accurate as long as you don’t have a complicated financial situation.
^^^
This is what is so wrong with what you posted.
(Also, EFC stands for Estimated Family Contribution, but that’s a minor quibble.)
Nope…lots wrong with your reply Lucky.
The EFC is the estimated family contribution calculated by the FAFSA. It is primarily used to determine eligibility for federally funded need based aid. Some states use it for determining eligibility for state need based aid as well.
This is the MINIMUM amount you can expect to pay for the upcoming year for college. It’s not “per year” because this FAFSA is for the upcoming school year only.
The vast majority if colleges do not guarantee to meet full financial need (cost of attendance minus EFC). There will more than likely be a gap between the aid offered to you and your financial need at most schools. That $5353 should be viewed as a bare minimum you will be spending for a year of college.
Yes, submit your financial aid applications on time. Yes, income and assets are the driver. But simply submitting your FAFSA on time will not improve your financial aid numbers.
Yes, do this. BUT be alerted that if your parents own a business or are self employed, are divorced, or own property other than your primary residence…the NPCs will not be accurate.
They are also not accurate for international students and transfer students.
@LuckyName Erin’s Dad is right. Your post is misleading.
At most schools, an EFC of $5353 is rather meaningless. A school could cost $50k per year, and yet this student might only get a tiny Pell grant of about $100 and a $5500 loan. So, in such a case, obviously the family would be expected to pay a LOT more than EFC.
EFC is rather meaningless and it’s very misleading. Every year we see posts from innocent students and parents who are saddened to learn that schools don’t have to do anything with EFC except see if there is some tiny federal aid that can be awarded.
@thumper1 I had a feeling somebody would comment on the “per year.” Of course it’s not per year because of the income increases, the EFC will increase. If the income decreases, the EFC will decrease. However, by “per year” I meant “year.”
I also once never stated just submitting it would give you good financial aid. That’s why I stated “etc.”
lucky, next time, be more specific with your response. As you wrote it, it was very misleading. Too many pieces of information were left to “etc”.
The minimum Pell grant (from the ifap website):
And I only quibble because not being Pell eligible makes a difference sometimes for other forms of aid.
@thumper1 with that I do agree.
Lucky, you’re refusing to focus on the most important error in your first post in this thread.
This statement is just plain wrong and even worse, it is potentially seriously misleading to anyone who doesn’t know any better.
@middkid86 what? the fact that it doesn’t have minimum in it? it also doesn’t have maximum. and as for the “per year,” that was explained. each year a fafsa is filled out and new efc’s are determined. this is my last post to you. have a good day kid
No dude. It’s just plain wrong.