About my FASFA App. and EFC?

Question

I have applied for the FASFA online and the SAR says that my EFC is 2438. ( I know that the lower the number the better, but is this considered a high number for FASFA? )

What does this mean? My school costs a little less than $39K for 2yrs can anyone estimate what I should be getting?

Also, How do I apply for the pell grant? Is there a link or any other sites that offer Grants that don't have to be paid back?

Serious inquiries only, best answer gets 10. Thanks!

Answer 1

It means that you won't get full financial aid because you have an EFC. The pell grant is automatically applied when you fill out your FAFSA. All federal/school grants and loans are automatically filled out when you complete your FAFSA, they get that from your information, you don't have to do anything. I don't know exactly how much you'll get because Financial aid is not determined by the government, they give an estimate of what you should get and the college decides how much you'll get. I can tell you right now though that grants alone will not cover your tuition alone more likely because I had an EFC of 0 and I got about 13 thousand in grants per year while my school was 20 thousand. Grants are just not enough to pay for it all. You will need loans.

Answer 2

Well judging by the amount of your EFC, it's fairly unlikely that you will be eligible for Pell Grant money. If you are, your school will be sure to include it in your financial aid award letter they send you once they've processed the information that is in the FAFSA you submitted. The FAFSA form IS the form you would need to fill out in order for Pell Grant eligibility, so there's nothing else you need to fill out in regard to the Pell.

If you are a first time college student, you will be eligible each school year for:

$5,500 in Stafford Loan Money, broken down by:

($3,500 between subsidized and unsubsidized, plus an additional $2,000 unsubsidized in an increase that the government recently approved...I believe beginning last spring term)

Pell Grants go UP TO $4731, but with an EFC as high as yours while you may be eligible for SOME, you won't be eligible for the maximum amount. Even students with EFCs of Zero may not get full amounts.

FSEOG Grants vary from $100-4000 a year, and like Pell Grants, are based on financial need.

Without knowing if you have grades/test scores eligible for scholarships (and those deadlines are usually a year or so before the term you want to begin), even with the maximum amounts of the sources listed above here, you're most likely going to need private loans to make up the difference since you said your schooling will cost about $19,500 a year.

Sorry I couldn't be more specific, but financial aid awards vary vastly from school to school. I hope that helps somewhat!

Answer 3

EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution.  This means that based on your application and tax return info, FASFA has determined that your family should be able to contribute $2,438.00 towards your tuition.  FAFSa automatically sends this info to the school(s) you listed on your application.  The school then determines how much they will give you in financial aid.  To break it down further, if your tuition is say, $20,000. for one year, and your EFC is $2,438.00. then the balance to be considered with the financial aid office will be $17,562.00.  This does not mean you will get that whole amount but it looks like you qualify for financial aid.  There are other factors the school also takes into account.  If you still have a balance after you get your financial aid award, then most people take out a student loan or go on a payment plan. However, the earlier you do this, the better as funds get used up quickly.  

good luck:)

Answer 4

http://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/attachment...

The FAFSA is the application that you complete to determine your Pell Grant eligibility. You can review the attached chart to match your EFC number to your potential award amount. Your award amount is based on your enrollment.

Your institution will take the information from the FAFSA (including your EFC) and determine your eligibility for other types of grants, scholarships or student loans. Once they have determined your eligibility, they will send you an Award Letter outlining what you qualify for.

To apply for other scholarships, www.fastweb.com is a great place to start.