Does a EFC of 00000 mean you dont have to pay for college?

onhcetum · 01-31-2010, 08:49 PM

Does a EFC of 00000 mean you dont have to pay for college? That is what I've been hearing.

Can someone please clarify this?

yosup · 01-31-2010, 08:52 PM

The 0 is how much your family is expected to pay. Colleges use this number to determine how much financial aid you get, and if a college is need-blind, then you probably won't have to pay. A lot of colleges can't always meet 100% of your need though, and you'll have to end up paying something, or take up a loan.

swimcatsmom · 01-31-2010, 08:54 PM

Depends on the school. If it is one of the few schools that promises to meet full need then your need may be fully met. Some schools (such as Harvard) promise to meet full need without loans. Others promise to meet full need but will include a lot of loans.

The vast majority of schools do not promise to meet full need. Schools that award only federal aid can not generally meet full need as federal aid covers nowhere near the full cost of even most 4 year Instate public universities.

swimcatsmom · 01-31-2010, 08:55 PM

Quote:

if a college is need-blind, then you probably won't have to pay

Need blind is not the same as meets full need. Most need blind schools are need blind for admissions, but do not promise to meet full need. For instance most State Us are need blind for admissions. Very few of them promise to meet full need.

Need blind school that meet full need are the exception, not the rule.

mom2collegekids · 01-31-2010, 08:59 PM

Does a EFC of 00000 mean you dont have to pay for college? That is what I've been hearing.

If that were true, then all poor people would be in college.

What schools did you apply to?

What are your stats? GPA and SAT/ACT?

hmom5 · 01-31-2010, 08:59 PM

MOST colleges do not meet need, so no, that is not at all what a zero EFC means. If you are an excellent student that can get into one of the schools that does meet need, which are in general top colleges, it means that your contribution will be just summer work, a work study job and campus and in some cases student loans.

What a zero EFC means is that you will get a full Pell Grant (a bit over $5000/yr) and qualify for a subsidized loan and work study job. You would also qualify for grants from the state in some states.

At the vast majority of colleges, the rest of the money would have to come from the college and few of them have the money to meet the need of students with low EFCs. They dole their money out to top candidates.

Most students with low EFCs end up working within their state school systems.

jjcddg · 01-31-2010, 09:45 PM

Based on your previous posts I see that you've applied to William and Mary, UVA, DUke and Johns Hopkins. UVA and DUke meet 100% of need, William and Mary meets an average of 82% of need and Johns Hopkins meets an average of 98% of need.

I think that Duke and JH are profile schools, and UVA has their own additional FA form (not sure about W&M). So, based on each individual school's financial aid formula, your expected family contribution vary from school to school (ie be more than zero). Also, some schools automatically have a student summer earnings contribution (I don't know about the aformentioned schools).

These schools are great choices for someone with a low EFC, but pretty tough schools to get into. What are your safety schools???

onhcetum · 01-31-2010, 10:37 PM

Oh wow, thank for the replies.

jjcddg, I applied to a bunch of in-state schools: VT, VCU, and JMU.

I'm really worried though, I have a 00030 EFC.

My parents arent rich. they make 60k between the two of them. i have 3 siblings, and my family is still paying off our house.

Will such a low EFC hurt me?

mom2collegekids · 01-31-2010, 10:57 PM

^^^

I think you made an input mistake.

I ran an EFC calculator using your info on another thread and it says that your EFC is 3,000.

Granted, that above EFC may not be right, either, but a 30 EFC for that income is too low.

yosup · 01-31-2010, 11:03 PM

...what's up with the leading zeros? Surely you know that 00030 = 30? O_O

Anyways, why would a low EFC hurt you? The lower the better (as in you have a better chance of getting more aid). And yeah, I think you made a mistake. There is no way your EFC can be so low with $60k, unless your siblings are all maybe in college.