An EFC (Expected Family Contribution) question.?

Question

I have an EFC of 2156, is this relatively good or what? I hear the lower the better, but what can I expect if my tuition right now is 1800 dollars with an EFC of 2156. Will I get a good chunk in grants and what not?

Answer 1

EFC scores range from 0 to 99999. A score of 2156 is low, but not exceptionally so. You are qualified for a Pell Grant from the federal government, but your total eligibility is only $645, which will be paid to your school in two equal payments of $322.50, one in the fall, and one in the spring.

A score of 2156 means that you are eligible for the federal work-study program, but your school is permitted leeway in selecting which students they offer this form of financial assistance to. Unlike some of the other forms of federal financial aid, there is no requirement that a student demonstrate "exceptional need".

Finally, you will be eligible for a maximum of $5500 in Stafford loans, because you are (I'm assuming) a dependent undergraduate in your first year. Some of the loans (a maximum of $3500) may come in the form of subsidized Stafford loans, which are to your advantage, because the government pays the interest on a subsidized Stafford from the time the loan is made until the time that you begin repaying the loan, after you finish (or drop out of) school. This can save you several hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in interest payments over the life of your loan.

The financial aid office at your school will send you an aid award letter, telling you what assistance you are eligible for. You and your parents are free to accept some, all, or none of the aid that is offered.

I hope that helped - good luck!

Edit: Ms. Found is quite correct. I answered too quickly, and looked at the part-time student section of the Pell Grant table. If you are a full time student, your Pell award would, indeed be $2581, paid $1290.50 in the fall and $1290.50 in the spring. Thanks for catching that!

Answer 2

With an EFC of 2156 you would qualify for a Pell grant (free money) in the amount of $2,581 (half in the fall - $1290.50 and another 1290.50 in the spring) if you attend full time and meet about a million other requirements like no bachelors degree, decent college GPA and more.  You might qualify for state grants and FSEOG grants, depending on how early you did your fafsa.

Congratulations!!!  Free money is a great thing.

(not sure where NotAnyoneYouKnow got her Pell figures, but she's (?) mistaken.... which is good for you.  everything else looks good though.)