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How do I figure out what the number the FAFSA gave me for my EFC means in terms of how much aid I will be getting? Or does anyone know a website that gives this information (NOT how to figure out my EFC, but what it means??)? Is it the dollar amount I'm supposed to be contributing towards my eduacation?

I'm sorry if this is posted somewhere else, but i couldn't find the answer to my question anywhere (all I could find is worksheets to figure out my EFC--but I already know it)...

Yes that is the amount you're expected to contribute. They calculate total costs, subtract from your EFC and that is what you get in loans

Is it the dollar amount I'm supposed to be contributing towards my eduacation?

Yes: this is your Expected Family Contribution. This will determine the amount of need-based aid you will be eligible for, such as Perkins Loans and Subsibized Stafford Loans. Some schools may also use this information to determine your eligibility for need-based grants or scholarships funded by the school. Your EFC will have no effect on the amount of funding available to you in the form of Unsubsidized Stafford Loans and Direct PLUS loans, which are not need-based.

so that's the actual dollar amount? no added zeroes or anything?

The number is whole dollars. EFC: 234 would be an Expected Family Contribution of $234.00.

I wish I knew how they calculated this. Mine is like 2400. How the hell did they get that number?

You're lucky...mine is in the tens of thousands and i have no idea why they are doing that to me!

my wife makes decent money but i'm 31 and won't have any parental financial support...

I completed my fafsa last week and my EFC is close to 10 grand. When I was living at home throughout my undergrad, my efc was zero. The lower the better.

Mine came out to around 17k. I actually looked through the FAFSA tables (they're pretty easy to decipher) and the basic formula is as follows:

2007 Income
- Allowances (taxes, dependents, marital status, etc.)
Total *50%
= Expected Contribution from Income

Current Assets (investments, cash) *20%
= Expected Contribution from Assets

EFC = Expected Contribution from Income + Expected Contribution from Assets

My ECI came out to 16k because I made around 60k last year, but I have practically zero assets (all savings are in retirement accounts) so my ECA was pretty low.

Hopefully this demystifies the process a bit.

Mine...sadly, is still 0...

thanks i really appreciate the help

arich24 wrote:Mine...sadly, is still 0...

Sadly? That's the greatest number I've seen in a while! True it means your broke, but hey your eligible for all federal loans out there.

I just got out of the Marines, and although my total taxable income was under ten thousand dollars (due to being deployed to Iraq where you don't pay taxes), I ended up getting an EFC of 8277 dollars. I got out on January 4, so between now and the start of school I'm staring down a total of 8 months potential unemployment with no marketable skills. Furthermore, I have bad credit because of a horrendous identity theft. I don't think I can qualify for private student loans. Is there anything I can do to cover the shortfall or reevaluate my EFC to a more realistic number?

"The financial aid office at your school will determine how much financial aid you are eligible to receive. Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and other information will be used to determine your aid eligibility.

Note: Your EFC is not the amount of money your family will have to pay for college nor is it the amount of federal student aid you will receive. It is a number used by your school to calculate how much financial aid you are eligible to receive." - From the FAFSA FAQ's. So EFC isn't really a dollar value - it is a value used to calculate aid (akin to a credit score).

Also, someone above referenced a 20% multiplier for the asset contribution calculation, but I have only seen 35% when I searched.