What does the EFC Index translate to?

thumper1
Sat, 27 Feb 2010 09:39:25 +0000

The EFC is a dollar amount, not an index. As Swimcatsmom explained…it should be viewed as the minimum amount your family will be expected to contribute. The reason for this is that MOST colleges do not meet full need. In other words your Cost of Attendance minus your financial aid will leave a balance that exceeds your EFC.

For example, if your school costs $20,000 and your financial aid is $10,000…that would leave a balance of $10000 to cover. If your EFC was $5000…you can see that the balance here is MORE than your EFC. You would be paying that “gap” in what the school offers you and their cost of attendance.

Yes, some schools DO meet full need, but not a high %age of them do.

In addition, most of the more generous schools also use the Profile and/or their own financial aid form in addition to the FAFSA. These forms are used to help schools determine their awarding of institutional aid.

So…not an INDEX…a dollar amount, but not what you WILL be paying for college each year, in MOST cases.