How Colleges Determine How Much Financial Aid You Receive?
Determining Financial Need
To figure out how much money a student really needs, the people in the financial aid office subtract a student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the cost of attending the specific college. It is the combination of the attendance costs and the EFC that determine how much a student and his/her family will pay for school.
EFC is a detailed calculation that takes into consideration a student's family's assets, income, and size. It also considers the status of a student's parent relationship and the number of family members that are in college. A student's EFC can vary depending on the type of loan that he/she is applying for and also by the college that he/she is applying to. It is important to note that income calculations include the student's income as well as the parent's income. EFC is calculated through information that is provided on the FAFSA. The lower a student's EFC, the larger amount of financial aid a student receives. A student will be informed of his/her actual EFC through a Student Aid Report (SAR), which is a summary of the information presented on the FAFSA.
The cost of attendance includes tution, textbooks, room and board, personal expenses and transportation. Clearly, every school will have a different cost of attendance.
Once schools process a student's FAFSA information, they send out financial aid award letters. These letter explain, in detail, the breakdown of finances that a student will receive. The money is split into grants, work-study, scholarships, and student loans. The total amount of money that a student receives will not, and cannot, be greater than his/her financial need.
A Student's Options
Sometimes, colleges do not offer a student the amount of money that he/she really needs to attend a school. In this case, students can search for independent scholarships, look for alternative tuition repayment plans, and look over their applications to make sure that all circumstances were included and considered.
