Here is the way it usually works: Your FAFSA EFC is generally the absolute least amount you are going to be paying. In your case that amount is $12,495. It is highly unlikely to get financial aid that will bring your cost below that amount. In fact, it is highly unlikely that any school, even those that guarantee to meet full need will give you sufficient aid so that you only pay your FAFSA EFC.
Schools that guarantee to meet full need tend to define that need themselves , and they do not use the FAFSA EFC formula. Yes, some exceptions, UChicago, Albright college, to name a few. But, the FAFSA formula and institutional formulas tend to differ, and the institutional ones tend to expect you to pay more.
As for most schools, the do use FAFSA, but they do not tend to give financial aid in amounts that leave you just the EFC to pay. Some state schools have made that commitment to try to make college affordable to all, but as you have noted, your state, Illinois has not. Your state schools all gap, as you have seen, running the NPCs in them.
Whether ISU is out of state to you or not, was not of issue to me. I took your original statement that you are expecting a scholarship of $8000 as fact as you did not indicate that was from the NPC of ISU. The NPC is not a guarantee, but it should give the usual outcome for a student running those numbers. What it’s saying is that a student of your caliber generally gets an $8k scholarship. That it does not list any other financial aid is typical of state schools’ treatment of OOS students. You are not first in line for financial aid there, and that one award is all you are likely to get, and no guarantees there even.
You can also borrow $5500 as a freshman from the federal Direct Loan program, and some of that will be subsidized as you are likely to be asked to pay more than your EFC.
It is possible to get more than the $8k scholarships from ISU, but also possible you get less. That is just what is expected, given your stats. With merit money, there is that possibility of scholarships covering even your EFC. But those are generally very difficult to get
You can look for schools that may give you a full tuition scholarship and give them a go with your applications. Nebraska, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky are some ideas
There are also schools with low sticker prices in the states of Nebraska, South Dakota, Mississippi. Google, “least expensive
Colleges”, as well as “Full ride Scholarships” and “Full tuition Scholarships” Those schools are not going to have the name recognition of ISU, but they have the possibilities of costing less, maybe even less than your EFC.
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