Calculating Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine a student's eligibility for various state, federal and institution-subsidized financial assistance. The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) portion of the FAFSA is used to gauge the student's financial need.
Significance
The U.S. Department of Education calculates the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) by using a predetermined formula.
Identification
As noted on the official FAFSA website, the EFC is a measure of your family's financial strength and takes into account factors such as the family's taxed and untaxed income, assets and benefits.
Features
The size of a student's family and whether any other members of the family are currently enrolled in or will be attending college within the year are also taken into account. In other words, the EFC reflects the amount of money a student's family is likely to contribute toward the student's education for that year.
Function
Once the FAFSA is submitted, it gets processed and the results are sent to the student and the financial aid offices of the schools that the student entered in her application.
Size
The EFC is established during the processing of the FAFSA and is used to indicate the amount of financial aid the student qualifies for. Generally, students with the lowest EFC numbers are awarded the most financial aid. Typically, the cost of school attendance, minus the EFC, equals the approximate amount of a student's financial aid.
Tags: Expected Family, Expected Family Contribution, FAFSA used, Family Contribution, student financial, into account, student family