Correlation between FAFSA and Profile EFCs

cptofthehouse
Mon, 29 Jan 2007 14:37:10 +0000

EFC can come from loans. Just be aware that the colleges’ aid packages are likely to have loans too. That is where the tricky business starts. You are not guaranteed to have that EFC met, even from FAFSA only schools. All that EFC is really good for is to determine your eligibility for certain govt monies. THereafter, it is worth very little. Most FAFSA only schools do NOT meet 100% of EFC. In fact, I don’t know one that guarantees to do so. So you then have PROFILE and then can do their numbers any way they please to come up with their institutional need figure. If you are eyeing a school that guarantees 100% of need, even then you cannot be out of the woods, as the package will be made up of loans, maybe work study as well as grants. If the package is primarily loans and workstudy, it can pose a problem if you were planning to borrow to meet some of your EFC and work during the school year for the rest, since that takes up some of your plans.