FAFSA- First timer?

Question

What in terms of payment does the EFC mean? The college I want to attend tuition with everything is about $30,000. My EFC is only around $10,000. Do I need to get a loan to cover the rest? Any advice would be greatly apreicated!!

Answer 1

Jeremy is correct.  Your efc is not the amount you are going to have to pay for college.  It is just a code your school uses to determine how much and what kinds of fin aid you get.  The best determination of how much you will have to get to pay for school is to look at the schools website regarding tuition, fees, books, room and board.  This is how much you will have to pay.

Federal loans have yearly limits on them.  Freshman dependent students can only borrow 3500 their first year. (which is why community colleges are so popular).  If you don't have scholarships or family support to pay for more than this you will have to have parents do a PLUS (parent) loan, find more scholarships, or resort to the EVIL private student loan (sharks) industry.  

This is a good book regarding federal fin aid and the loan amounts, terms and interest rates.

Answer 2

Ok, your EFC is Estimated Family Contribution.  It is not, contrary to popular belief, a dollar amount.  It is more of a code used for eligibility of Grants, subsidized funding, perkins, etc..

Your EFC is too high to receive any government grants under Title IV funding.  If it is $30,000.00 within one academic year, that is.  Schools like Wyotech, UTI, or Tech schools normally require the student to receive some type of additional private funding.  If you are expressing that this tuition is over a period of 4 years, determine what you will need for your first academic period, and what your grade level will be.  Talk to your FAO on campus, and you will find out what you need.  Good luck!