What Is Your Expected Family Contribution?

Find out what you are expected to contribute in financial aid and why.

As you start looking into financial aid for college, you’ll hear the term Expected Family Contribution (EFC). What is it? The short answer is that it’s the amount of money that schools and the federal government expect your family to contribute toward your education.

Read on to learn what this contribution includes and how it’s calculated, as well as what your options are if the financial aid you’re awarded for tuition doesn’t meet your financial needs.

What Is Your Expected Family Contribution?

The EFC is an assessment of how much money your family can afford to pay for college. Your college money is calculated by the federal government and the colleges and universities you’re applying to and used to determine your overall financial need and whether you’re eligible for certain kinds of financial aid, including federal grants and college scholarships.

How Is It Calculated?

Your EFC is based on your family’s financial income and assets. It is then subtracted by the cost of attendance (COA) of attending each school you’re admitted to, which includes tuition, room and board, expenses and other fees. The resulting sum is considered your financial need, or the amount of financial aid you’re eligible for.

The Department of Education and the colleges and universities you’re applying each determine your expected family contribution a bit differently. The government looks at the information you provide in your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form to see what federal grants and state college aid you’re eligible or, as well as financial aid for some colleges.

Many colleges and universities, as well as some scholarship programs, use a different form, known as the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE Application, to determine your EFC. Unlike the federal government, schools will also take into account the value of any property your family owns, the amount of aid available at that college or university, that college’s admissions and aid policies and any special financial circumstances you may have.

What Can You Do If Your EFC Is Higher Than You Can Afford

If you have special financial circumstances that you believe colleges haven’t taken into consideration when assessing your need, you can file an appeal for more aid. Most colleges require these appeals in writing, detailing the circumstances you believe have been overlooked and/or have changed since you filed your application for financial aid. Contact the financial aid office for the school to find out their process for financial aid appeals.

If you’re unable to secure more financial aid, apply for merit-based financial aid, such as additional college scholarships, to supplement the aid offered in your award letter. Other options to pay for your college degree include borrowing money through student loans, getting a part-time job or reducing your current costs, through finding cheaper housing, buying used textbooks or getting on a less expensive meal plan at college.

College Costs Tips & Tactics

Review your FAFSA and PROFILE forms early so can gather the necessary paperwork and fill them out quickly and accurately. Getting the forms in early and without errors gives you the most opportunities for getting financial aid.
Contact each school to find out if they require the PROFILE form in addition to the FAFSA form when assessing financial aid.
Contact each school’s financial aid office to find out if they have any additional financial aid policies you may not be aware of. The more you know about how a college or university determines your eligibility for college aid, the more likely you are to receive available college money.
If you’re financially unable to attend a 4-year college, consider getting an associates degree at a community college first. Many associates degree programs will allow you to transfer those credits toward a bachelors degree.

How to Complete Your FAFSA
Five Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Tips
Changes to the FAFSA Form Make It Easier to Complete
Federal Aid vs. State Aid vs. College Aid
Are You Eligible for Federal Financial Aid
What to Do When You Receive Student Aid Report (SAR)

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