<p>I’ve used FAFSA forecaster many times over the last several years to estimate our EFC, and to see how changes in income and/or assets effect this. Today, I tried to run the forecaster, and it has been changed. Now, rather than providing an estimated EFC, it gives me estimated eligibility for federal financial aid. That’s far less useful information. Does anyone know why it’s been changed?</p>
<p>I also used the old one in the past. On this new one, I did get an EFC projection- under the section noting the Stafford dollar amount- on the left, under Difference.</p>
<p>But, a number of us are finding it’s worth the effor to calc it by hand- another cc’er sent me to: <a href=“http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/101310EFCFormulaGuide1112.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/101310EFCFormulaGuide1112.pdf</a> </p>
<p>make your way through all the descriptive info, print out the A forms and use the various tables provided, as needed.</p>
<p>It’s been changed because of feedback given to ED by parents and FAA all over the country.</p>
<p>The EFC isn’t a good predictor of telling someone how much they would pay for college any more. Maybe it was years and years ago when there wasn’t such a huge difference from Univ A vs Univ B vs Univ C, but really the EFC was never meant to be a predictor to begin with.</p>
<p>It was created to determine federal aid amounts and eligibility, that is it. The leap from “my EFC” to “my actual cost” is a huge one and most folks (when you try to explain it to them) just want to jump out of the plane with no chute. </p>
<p>This is being fixed gradually, so there will be fewer jumpers. Imagine a families disappointment with an EFC of 0 who assume based on all kinds of incorrect assumptions that they are going to get a free education. </p>
<p>The EFC was created to determine federal aid eligibility for grants and other need based aid only. That’s it, and in the last 40 years its been twisted and renamed and used to somehow “predict” how much a person is suppose to pay for a school. Not so and it’s finally the time to fix it.</p>
<p>In today’s world, when you have some schools that may cost 1,000 a year and some that may cost 50,000 ED has finally come around in realizing it’s so outdated the precedence of tradition (its name) has far outweighed all the trouble and confusion it has caused. I mean, you have TONS of kids out there who actually end up going to NO school when the time comes because of incorrect assumptions and just simple bad information. That is horrible! Horrible! It’s time.</p>
<p>The FAA’s have been rallying to get this puppy renamed for years and its finally going. It is an Index, some call it a Code… the name “Expected Family Contribution” is all but a thing of the past.</p>
<p>My dollar is keeping the acronym (less confusion) but redefining it. </p>
<p>Expected Financial Code</p>
<p>This eliminates TWO problems… first it gets rid of the implication that a person’s family is somehow responsible for paying for their kid to go to college (or doesn’t stress to the kid that THEY are the first member of their family) however you want to look at it) AND it gets rid of the… “this is how much money I have to pay to go to school” assumption which we ALL know isn’t true… far, far from it.</p>
<p>To clarify, my Forecaster says: Your estimated EFC is $x. <– The figure was higher than when I did it using the above link.</p>
<p>F4E, we’re talking Forecaster. I got an “estimated EFC” and OP either didn’t or doesn’t see it.</p>
<p>Use the EFC Calculator on Collegeboard website, hit save to keep your information!
You can select both “IM” and “FM”. (Institutional Methodology & Federal Methodology)</p>
<p>Use it as a guide, an EFC calculator certainly can’t predict how much aid a school is going to give you, as many schools will “gap.”</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone for your help and suggestions. Yes, when I went back to the FAFSA forecaster and tried again, I did find an estimated EFC. Interesting that it’s printed in a font that is half the size of the rest of the words on the page. It’s almost as if they don’t want you to see it! I’ll give the other to calculators a try too…thanks SLUMOM and lookingforward.</p>