From what i’ve gathered with my own kiddos, you can only get a subsidized loan if your EFC is less than the COA, and if the school says its ok.
It’s interesting; my D16 got offered subsidized loans at one school and not at another (LAC) even though COA were basically the same her freshman year.
She has a $5.5K subsidized loan this year; the amount you can borrow goes up each year by a bit with a $23K max. You do save a little bit with subsidized, but not sure if it’s worth appealing your EFC from FAFSA. . . and like kelsmom (who’s a FA professional) not sure if you have a basis for appealing.