What does the EFC Index translate to?

swimcatsmom
Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:37:37 +0000

No it’s not a proportion. It is probably the minimum you will pay.

For federal aid the EFC is used to determine eligibility for certain programs. For instance the main federal grant, the Pell grant, requires an EFC of 4617 or below. If you qualify for the Pell the amount you will be eligible for is roughly inverse to your EFC. With a 0 EFC you get the maximum (5550) and the amount goes down to the minimum 1176 at EFC of 4616 then phases out at EFC 4617. Most other federal grant aid is related to being pell eligibility. Other federal aid is basically either work study (which requires need) or loans (some of which require need, some not).

The FAFSA EFC is also used to determine state aid in certain states.

Outside of federal and state aid it will depend on the school and their policies, whether they have any institutional aid to offer, whether they promise to meet full need etc.