“How does the FAFSA determine the financial aid you should receive?”
-Julie M., Chicago, IL
Julie,
Well that’s (literally) the million dollar question, isn’t it?
The federal government reviews the information you complete on your FAFSA
application (basically by having you list all sources of potential income: untaxed, interest income from investments, net worth, etc. and compares that to any and all financial obligations you may have) and determines by using a specific equation what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number would be. This number tells them (and you) approximately how much they expect you should be able to contribute financially to the Cost of Attendance (COA) of the institution you list on the FAFSA application itself.
So, for example, let’s say you want to attend America University which costs approximately $10,000 a year. After the federal government calculates your EFC, which let say is 4389, you can expect that you will receive around $5,611 in aid, and that is usually a combination of grants and loans, or different types of loans added together.
Now, to get even more complicated, the amount they will offer will also fluctuate depending on when you apply, what state you live in, and how much money is left in the federal education budget when they go to cut your check.
So as you can see, the estimation for how much aid you will receive can be tricky and will almost always be just that: an estimation. However, you can usually find some really great EFC Calculators online that will help you get an idea of your expected federal aid.
To take control of your financial aid process, the best thing you can do is apply EARLY and seek out the help of a professional advisor who will make sure the form is filled out correctly. Otherwise you can spend weeks making corrections and adding information later that you may not know you even needed! There are mixed feelings out there about paying for professional help for completing the form, but I personally feel that when it comes to the difference between THOUSANDS of dollars, why not spend the $60 and know you are doing it right?
Tags: fafsa
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