my efc is 04350 what does that mean for my aid?

Answer 1

that means that your family is expected to pay 4,350 dollars toward your college tuition each year. usually, a college that is good with financial aid will meet whatever they charge after that 4350 to help you go to the school. meaning that if a school costs 20,000 dollars a year to go to, you and your family would be responsible for 4350 dollars, and the government and the school and loans and everything else would cover the rest of the cost. get it? im not 100 percent sure it always works like that, but that is how it is supposed to work.

Answer 2

Well, above all else, it means that you are ineligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant, which are only awarded to students with EFCs of $3,850 or lower.

Basically, that number means that your Expected Family Contribution is $4,350 (put another way, this means you are a $4,350 short of being a "full need" student).

However, it should be emphasized that this does not mean that all but $4,350 of your schooling will be paid for. Many FAFSA applicants mistakenly believe that a low EFC means that the school or the government will cover the remainder. This is not the case. Most colleges do not have the means to meet all their students' full need through scholarships, and almost all of the Federal awards have limits that often fall short of tuition costs.

The amount of Federal aid that you will get depends on your school. Assuming that your school is accredited, costs at least as much as the size of the awards I'm about to mention and has an allocation of Campus-Based Aid (i.e. Perkins, SEOG, and Work-Study), your EFC would *probably* make you eligible for

* a Federal Stafford Loan of $2,625 (If you are a Freshman; higher if you are any other year)
* a Federal Perkins loan (Ranges from $500 to $4,000 for undergrads)
* probably a Federal SEO Grant (For undergrads only. Awards range from $500 to $4000) -- technically, SEOG must first go to Pell students, but after that, schools are meant to give them to the next "tier" of needy students.
* a Federal Work-Study Award -- these vary greatly and can be anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to as much as you need (though I know of very few schools that offer more than a few thousand in FWS)
* Depending on where you live, you may also receive some aid from your state.
* If your school offered need-based scholarships, you might be considered for those -- check with your school on this matter

Many of these funds are allotted at the school's discretion. These days, there is never enough SEOG, Perkins, and FWS to go around, so it is uncommon for schools to award students to their maximum eligibility -- even to full-need students.

Check your school's website: most Financial Aid Offices have a page on the school's website that lays out their policies, application processes, and the types of funds they offer.

Apply for as many private scholarships as you can. Try these sites:

http://www.fastweb.com
http://www.srnexpress.com
http://www.scholarships.com
http://www.scholarships101.com
http://www.finaid.org/scholarships
http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp
http://services.princetonreview.com/default.asp?RUN=%2Fcollege%2Ffinance%2Fscholar%2FscholInterview%2Easp&RCN=auth&RDN=7&ALD=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eprincetonreview%2Ecom
http://www.collegeanswer.com/paying/content/pay_free_money.jsp

Answer 3

that your parents will have to contribute to a portion of your financial aid and usually the school decides how much when you get you aid but make sure that you try every FREE program out there to get aid cause sometimes there are ways around that!! and if all else fail you parents might have to get parent plus loan. by the way dont every pay for someone to help you get financial aid!! its a rip-off!! good luck!!

Answer 4

It means that if your annual tuition is 5000, you aren't going to qualify for much financial aid. If the annual tuition is 15,000 then you'll qualify for more aid.