Where to find my efc

Your eligibility is determined by your Expected Family Contribution. Your EFC is an index score and will be used to determine your level of financial need.

The EFC will then determine how much financial aid you are eligible for. This may include social security or unemployment benefits. Once calculated, the EFC will essentially mean whether or not you are eligible for federal student aid. Eligible applicants may receive Pell Grants or subsidized student loans, but ineligible applicants may apply for scholarships or non-subsidized loans.

If you are eligible, the EFC will determine exactly how much financial aid you can get. The EFC is used to determine your eligibility for federal student aid. There is a specific formula used to determine your eligibility.

Your EFC score can improve, increasing your eligibility for financial aid. Ways to improve your EFC score include paying off large debts and delaying big ticket purchases, such as buying a car, until after you have completed the FAFSA application process.

If the EFC is not there, it means that your application is not complete. One way to check the status of your FAFSA application is to visit the financial aid office at your school.

It will not take into account consumer debt, such as credit card balances and auto loans. Therefore, having credit card debt, mortgage debt, or the like will not increase chances of a more favorable EFC number.

If you are unsure about how to answer certain FAFSA questions, check out our tips to approach tricky questions. The federal government then takes your answers, and calculates your EFC according to a complicated EFC formula see this worksheet to calculate yours. Therefore, your EFC could change from year to year. This is especially true in cases where the person in charge of income falls ill suddenly or becomes unemployed.

If you do qualify, the system will exclude household assets from the calculation of your EFC number. This generally means your household will be seen to have fewer financial resources, so your EFC will be lower, and your eligible aid package will be higher.

Each school considers your EFC to calculate how much federal student aid you are eligible for. The COA will often include room and board that is, accommodation and meals , textbooks, student fees, and transportation. Usually, colleges will try to close that gap by providing you with a financial aid package consisting of grants, loans, and work-study.

Here are three examples of how this calculation will work:. Some schools or organizations also offer financial aid that is not need-based, to provide further financial assistance. In other words, your eligibility is based on the amount remaining, after receiving need-based aid, scholarships, and grants. Your EFC is not considered here. Many of these scholarships have no household income requirement and are open to all kinds of families, not just low-income ones.

Going Merry is your best source to find those external scholarships. Having an EFC of zero does not mean the school will cover the complete cost of attendance which, in your case, equals your financial need.

After the amount your school is covering is subtracted, the remaining amount is called unmet need. One great way to help with this is to apply for outside scholarships. Going Merry is a great way to find and apply for outside scholarships efficiently. Sign up for an account here , or read about how it all works. Once you receive your college admissions letters go you! We also recommend that you consider what percentage of your aid package is loans that you have to pay back vs.