Efc

Parent Cafe
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<p>Totally confused as an educated person. I submitted my son’s FASFA and my EFC is 12300. What exactly does that mean? What I keep seein is Cost minus ECF = financial need. So if I have to contribute 12300 yearly can I apply as a parent for a loan for this? Totally confused. Any help, Thanks</p>

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<p>If your EFC per FAFSA is $12300, that will likely be the MINIMUM you will be expected to pay. The amount of need based aid will vary depending on the college to which your child matriculates. Some schools guarantee to meet the difference between the Cost of attendance minus the EFC while others do not. in fact…MOST do not guarantee to meet that difference.</p>

<p>Yes…you can apply for a loan to meet the difference in costs.</p>

<p>You might want to post your questions about financial aid on the “financial aid and scholarships” section of this forum…or even look at some threads there. There is a HUGE amount of information in that area that might help you…and many folks who will willingly offer their opinions.</p>

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<p>If you have good credit, you can get a Parent PLUS loan for the FULL cost of attendance, not just the “difference” between COA and EFC. The $12K EFC also means that your kid will qualify for federally subsidized Stafford Loans at most colleges - that eligibility is calculated from the difference between EFC and COA.</p>

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<p>Understand too, that when a college says it will “meet your need” they can mean some of it could be grants, scholarships or loans.</p>

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<p>Maybe…and maybe not. It depends on the cost of attendance AT the school and if and how much aid your kiddo gets. Your student will only get a subsidized Stafford Loan IF they have financial need after any scholarships are awarded.</p>

<p>For example…if the school costs $20,000, and your EFC is $12,000…that would leave an $8000 balance. If the school gave your kiddo that amount in grants, he would have NO NEED. Your Stafford loan (which you can take anyway) would be unsubsidized.</p>

<p>DS’s EFC was $22,000 one year. COA was $48,000. That left a $26,000 “balance”. He got a $12,000 merit scholarship…now down to $16,000 for us to pay in addition to our EFC. Guess what? His stafford loan was NOT all subsidized. A very small part of it was.</p>

<p>NOW…same year…DD had a similar cost of attendance, same EFC, and only $6000 in grant aid. Her Stafford was subsidized. </p>

<p>Go figure.</p>