what does my efc number mean in correspondance to my financial aid expectancy?
354282
Think of your EFC as the amount that the government feels your family can afford to pay for a year's schooling.  If you are an independent student, your EFC is the amount that they think YOU (and your spouse, if you are married) can pay. The cost of a year's schooling MINUS your EFC equals your Financial Need.\n\nOf course, the system isn't perfect.  Not all schools can meet your full financial need so, at these schools, you may be expected to pay more than your "expected" family contribution.  Ironic, no?  \n\nMany FAFSA filers can't actually come up with their expected contribution and need to obtain financial aid that exceeds their calculated "need."  In instances like these, there are several types of financial aid that can "replace" the EFC.  PLUS loans, Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, private educational loans, AND most merit-based scholarships can all be used even if your existing financial aid package covers your need. This is not uncommon.\n\nIn the end, think of your EFC not as a concrete amount but as a guideline that your financial aid office uses to see how great your financial need is relative to your educational costs and, in some cases, relative to their other students.
646047
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ <<<that is how I got mine
719691
It's Estimated Family Contribution. Definitely the lower it is the better, however, I would advise being completely honest on your FAFSA. If you erred on your application and are selected for verification, all errors will be corrected.
103377
Unfortunately, these processes can be very slow. Call the company with whom you filed the form and ask what the status of your application is and if there's anything else you need to submit to document your circumstances.\n\nIf the loan in question was a Federal loan, you might consider speaking to a Financial Aid administrator at your former school. Schools often have their own contacts at loan companies (special school-only phone numbers, or a designated client services representative). Or ask your Financial Aid Office to do the talking: Lenders will be less willing to jeopardize their relationship with a Financial Aid Administrator (and risk losing the business of an entire campus) than they are to brush you off.  Sad, but true.
367789
Well, did you look into any state specific scholarships? I applied for four in my state. Banks, and local institutions might have scholarships avaliable in your town, too. I'm planning on applying to a few fastweb.com scholarships as well... Not to sound obvious, but did you check when you were supposed to hear back from the organization? Did you turn them in on time? If yes, then there is nothing wrong with calling and say "Hi, I applied for your scholarship ____ number of days/months ago, and was wondering when I should be hearing about that." As long as you don't call obsessively, there's no harm in asking.  Also, if you don't get enough of your financial need met, when the school year starts you can ask the school if there were any unaccepted scholarships/funds/grants that you would be eligible for or to apply for. Make sure you call your school about that $35K sum. Did you file the FAFSA? Is that your EFC? If it is, make sure to ask your school what their policy is on applying scholarships toward the EFC. And lastly, usually the school has scholarship, grant and loan information on their website in the financial aid section. Hope this helps, and good luck!
921976
It means that they have completed that portion of your application.  If there is a problem, they send you a letter.  But unless you've been to jail or something, you should be fine.  Congrats!
199248
That is just where the email comes from.  You need to go to www.fafsa.ed.gov.  I hope that helps!
471409
That number means that your Expected Family Contribution is $0 (put another way, this means you are a "full need" student).  \n\nHowever, it should be emphasized that this does not mean that 100% of your schooling will be paid for. Many FAFSA applicants mistakenly believe that a $0 EFC (or very low EFC) means that the school or the government will cover the remainder.  This is not the case.  Most colleges do not have the means to meet all their students' full need through scholarships, and almost all of the Federal awards have limits that often fall short of tuition costs. \n\nHere is a sample financial aid package for a $0 EFC student (this assumes that you are a first-year dependent undergraduate student):\n\n-- $2,626 Stafford Loan\n-- $4,050 Pell Grant\n-- up to $4,000 (max.) Perkins Loan *\n-- up to $4,000 (max.) SEO Grant *\n-- a Federal Work-Study Award (FWS) -- from as low as a few hundred $ up to your unmet need *\n\n* {These funds are allotted at the school's discretion. These days, there is never enough SEOG, Perkins, and FWS to go around, so it is uncommon for schools to award students to their maximum eligibility.  While a student *could* be eligible for a great deal of Work-Study, most schools impose limits of a few thousand at most.}\n\n-- Your home-state may offer additional grants/loans to their residents. These awards are based on financial need, but check the criteria before expecting these funds to be part of your package. \n-- scholarships from your school (amounts very greatly and may not be based on your financial need but, rather, academic performance, etc.)\n\nLook at these awards in light of your tuition costs.  If you are planning on attending a low-cost school, it is possible that your financial need will be met with this package.  However, the average undergraduate student's financial aid package won't meet the cost of a private school education and you will need to seek out private/outside scholarships, appeal for additional scholarship from your school, or borrow a non-federal loan to supplement your aid package.\n\n{Just in case you aren't an undergrad... As a grad student, your $0 EFC would make you eligible for up to $18,500 in Federal Stafford loan funds and up to $6,000 in Perkins loan funds.  Graduate students are not eligible for Pell or SEOG.}
306446
Being married is one of the criteria for being considered independent for Federal Student Aid purposes.  Being considered independent, in turn, means that\n\n(a) you are no longer required to include your parents' income/asset information on your FAFSA\n(b) you must include your spouse's income/asset information on your FAFSA\n\nThis can be a good or bad thing, depending on how much money your spouse makes.  Most undergraduate students would benefit from this status simply because their spouse would probably make less than their parents did.  However, it is worth noting that there are instances in which a student would become *less* needy by marrying (and therfore, potentially eligible for less financial aid)...\n\n(1) If you are a graduate student, you would already be considered independent and therefore would *already* not be including your parents' information on your FAFSA.  Were you to marry someone with any kind of income or assets, you would have to report those amounts, so it is likely that your EFC would increase with this newfound "wealth."\n\n(2) Independent students are subject to a different EFC formula than dependent students.  The calculation is far too long to display here, but if you're curious as to what it takes into consideration, check here: http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcinformation/attachments/0607EFCFormulaGuideDecFinal.pdf\n\nMost notable of everything in this link is that the income and asset "conversion rates" are higher for independent students than they are for dependent students.  What does this mean?  Say, for example, that your new spouse had exactly the same income/assets as your parents.  Even if everything else was the same (age, number in household, state of residence), your EFC as the married student would be higher because your spouse's income/assets would be "converted" (i.e. counted against you) at a higher rate than if they belonged to your parents.\n \nAs far as actual awards...\n\nIf is worth noting, that if you are an independent *undergraduate* student, you will be entitled to an additional $4,000 in Unsubsidized Stafford Loan funding (this number increases to $5,000 for your Junior and Senior years).  Note: Graduate students are eligible for much more Stafford loan funding than undergrads.
1119483
You did the right thing by not giving them more information. The bank info is probably what they were "phishing" for. I got something similar with what was supposed to be an online degree program, but then I got a high-pressure call where someone tried to get me to apply for financial aid. It sounded like they were trying to scam money either from me or the financial aid program, so I backed out. They probably can't do anything with just your signature and address, but check with local law enforcement - they can likely direct you to an office or service to report the incident.
1048844
Dear Sir/Madam, \nI am writing to you to request financial aid to attend your college.
1165743
I believe you mean "FAFSA," which stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  FAFSA is simply the name of the application. When you file the FAFSA, you will be given a number known as your "EFC" or Expected Family Contribution.  Your school will use this number to determine your eligibility for federal grants as well as state and institutional financial aid.\n\nThe most common grant for college students is the Pell Grant, which is offered to students with EFCs of $3850 or lower. Another type of federal educational grant is the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, or SEOG.  Not all schools have the ability to offer this grant aid; those who do are meant to offer it to Pell-eligible students first and then to other needy students.  To determine if your school offers SEOG, just give them a call.\n\nDepending on how recently you completed High School and what type of programs you were in, you might also be eligible for Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant or the SMART Grant  Your college will assist you in determining your eligibility for these awards as well.\n\nTo file a FAFSA, don't go anywhere but http://www.fafsa.ed.gov , which is the official application website from the Department of Education. There are a number of "scam" sites that will attempt to charge you to complete an application that should be free.  If, at any time, you have questions about the form or need assistance completing it, there are a variety of *free* sources available to help you (not the least of which is your college or your old high school).
1044774
Your eligibility for Financial Aid is determined not by your income (exactly) but by something called an Expected Family Contribution (or "EFC"). Parent income is only ONE of MANY factors taken into consideration in this calculation.  Other factors include parent/student assets, the number of people in  your household, the number of college students in your home, your untaxed income, and so on... For example, some families have $0 in income but a lot of retirement savings or perhaps social security benefits and, as a result, are sometimes ineligible for federal grant aid. Because of this, I would highly recommend getting an estimate of your EFC. To do so, check out the following website: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml\n\nThat said, technically, just about any income level can receive at least SOME financial aid.  People with millions of dollars and EFCs of $99,999 (which is as high as it gets) can still receive Unsubsidized Stafford Loans and PLUS loans, which aren't need-based.  \n\nIn order to be eligible to obtain a Pell Grant, your EFC must be $3,850 or lower. If all your parents have is $37,000 in income (if they have no assets) and you, the student, don't have any income/assets either, you should be right on the cusp of Pell eligibility, which means you'd probably get a small Pell Grant and any other need-based aid that your school has to offer (such as Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans, FWS, and SEOG, if they have an allocation of campus-based aid).\n\nIf you really want to be prepared, do the following;\n1. Browse this site -- http://www.finaid.org -- it offers a wealth of Financial Aid knowledge\n2. Estimate your EFC\n3. Contact prospective schools to see (a) what types of federal aid they administer [since not all schools can adminsiter all types of aid] and (b) whether they also offer merit- and/or need-based scholarships/grants of their own\n\nFar too many students assume that, just because they show a lot of financial need, their education will be financed by the government or by their school.  This CAN be true but often isn't.  The same student can apply to several schools and receive very different aid packages.  So, once you know what types of aid are available to you, you will know what else you need to do to make higher education possible.
933950
I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you need to pay your account and get a transcript of the college you have already attended. You will be asked on your application to college what institutions you have already attended and you must answer honestly.\n\nIf you were to answer dishonestly, this behavior could become known at a future time if not now and cause you difficulty.
1093883
I am 99% certain that is a special loan program administered by your school.  As such, you won't find much information about it here (or elsewhere online) unless you talk to another student at your school or, better yet, your Financial Aid Office.  The terms and conditions of this loan (including the disbursement schedule, which is what you're asking about) will be established by your school alone.\n\nSee, the "normal" alternative loan process is this:\n1. the student contacts the lender and applies for the loan\n2. the school is sent a loan application to certify and either says "yes" or "no" to it.\n\nBut, in your case, it sounds like your school offered you this loan themselves. The other factor that leads me to believe that this is a school administered program is the generic name of the award and the word "elig" after it (suggesting that your school has established their own eligibility criteria/loan limit for the program).\n\nIf you want to know when your loan will be disbursed, just contact your Financial Aid Office.  It's a fair question.  In fact, if your classes have already started and you haven't gotten your money yet, there may be a processing delay that you need to resolve.
743834
Hello,\n\nJust as the last responders noted, it is mainly based on the income level, area you live and dependenscy as well...\n\nBasically after filling your FASFA the government determines what the EFC (expected family contribution) will be... From there you may qualify for financial aid right off the bat.. Anyting left over needed to pay you ar your parents can take out additional student loans for,,,\n\nLoans you take out will be considered staffors or direct loans... Loans your parents take out are called Plus loans....\n\nBoth can be used to pay for your education...\n\nWhat i suggest is calling myself or another licendsed student loan advisor to give you more detailed advice...\n\nThen you will know exactly wha tyou qualify for and can determine what to do from there...\n\nI work with Sutdent Aid lLending.. We are licensed nationwide and are administered by the Department of Education...\n\nI would be happy to assist you with your federal student loans...\n\nFeel free to call or email me at any time...\n\nGood Luck,\n\nJason Fry\nStudent Aid Lending\n1-800-964-0642 Ext. 114\njasonf@studentaidlending.com
1155807
In order for anyone to receive Financial Aid, s/he must be making "Satisfactory Academic Progress" (SAP -- usually taking a certain # of classes and maintaining a certain level of excellence in those classes).  So, if your FA was taken away, I can only assume it was because you didn't meet this requirement.  As such, before you apply for any private loans, you need to make sure that they, too, don't have an SAP requirement (some, like the Sallie Mae Signature Loan, will require that you be in good academic standing).\n\nTo obtain a private loan, you will need to apply directly with the lender.  Take a look at FinAid's list of the most popular student loans, here: http://www.finaid.com/loans/privatestudentloans.phtml . Before you submit any applications, check out several of the lenders' website first.  Read all of the sections on "how to apply" and "rates and terms" -- you will find that each lender will each have slightly different criteria than the next. \n\nWhenever possible, apply with a co-signer/co-applicant.  (If your credit is less-than-perfect, the co-signer's credit will act as a sort of stand-in for yours.  Even if you have good credit, applying with a co-applicant often helps te borrower obtain a lower interest rate.)\n\nWhen you find a loan that you are eligible for, with terms that appeal to you, just click apply and follow all the directions. Don't leave anything blank.  If you don't hear from the lender in a few days, follow up.  Ask questions if you have any.  \n\nIn most cases, your loan will require "school certification," a process wherein your lender will contact the school, tell them that you have applied for their loan, and request additional information from them.  Once your application is complete, your loan should be disbursed within a week or two of the start of classses.  Again, if it isn't give your school or your lender (or both) a call to find out where you stand.  Good luck.