What to do about a high EFC?

entomom
Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:07:23 +0000

You missed a couple of things. First, your parents can take out a home equity loan to help pay for your college. And second, you can apply to colleges with merit scholarships (doesn’t CalTech have some??) What you have to understand is that you are expected to pay your EFC with a combination of current earnings, savings and loans. That is why you’re seeing a gap between what you family can ‘afford’ and your EFC.

At most schools, any outside scholarships that you get will apply to the loan portion of your FA package first. However, after that they will cut into your work study or grant portion. Also, one thing to remember is that the majority of outside scholarships are for one year only and most are for incoming freshmen. So, it will be much more difficult to supplement your last three years of college with outside scholarships.