Help, How do you read the EFC from the FAFSA?

[maggiew]

Ours sure was off. Our EFC was 11,000 and we need to pay out of pocket 18,000 for our DD college. We were told that the most a freshman could borrow in loans was 9000. Fingers crossed for a few more scholarships.

It is not really that the EFC is "off". The EFC is the amount they estimate that a family should be able to contribute to the child's college expenses based on your financial situation. It is NOT what college will cost you.

The cost for college will vary depending on the school your child chooses to attend. Want to attend a private school? The cost might be $30,000 per year. Want to attend a state college or community college? The cost might be less.

So then, they look at what the EFC is and what the cost is and you have to figure out how to pay the difference. It might be with some sort of aid if your finances qualify you, some scholarships if student earns them, or loans.

Also, they don't expect the EFC to come out of that year's salary. They are assuming that you had some college plan all along.

Maggie

 

[patsal]

You would be surprised how often this happens. I corrected at least 3 of those last year.

Little note, you can go in and update your FAFSA 10000000 times, however each time you do you are more and more likely to have to go through the verification process (extra paperwork where the FinAid office double checks your info) Try to keep your corrections to a minimum - use the IRS import process to avoid lots of these mistakes (I know often taxes aren't done until after the FAFSA needs to be in)


I planned on submitting my paperwork, so not a big deal, I will be much more careful next year when I file!

 

[My sister's princess]

I planned on submitting my paperwork, so not a big deal, I will be much more careful next year when I file!

Sounds like you have it under control!

 

[DisMomme]

Hi My Sister's Princess from a Dis fan in Maine also. Wondering when we should hear what kind of aid our kids should get? We did the FAFSA on Jan 2nd and updated it as soon as we did our taxes. Our son has already been accepted to 2 colleges (and we are waiting on a third) but we need to see what kind of aid we qualify for before he makes his decisions.

Thanks

 

[My sister's princess]

Hi My Sister's Princess from a Dis fan in Maine also. Wondering when we should hear what kind of aid our kids should get? We did the FAFSA on Jan 2nd and updated it as soon as we did our taxes. Our son has already been accepted to 2 colleges (and we are waiting on a third) but we need to see what kind of aid we qualify for before he makes his decisions.

Thanks

Hmmmmm I hope your son wants to go to my school, then we can chat Mickey while we settle the bill I would expect he should hear soon, different schools send out their letters at different times, but most start nowish - March