What Is an EFC Score?
When a child begins college, the family usually fills out a FAFSA (Free Application for Financial Student Aid). This is to determine his needs, and to determine if federal financial aid assistance is available. The family's financial status is looked at to determine how much the family can contribute. This is referred to as an EFC score (expected family contribution).
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Financial Aid Determination
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Financial aid determination is accomplished by taking the cost of student attendance and subtracting out the amount of the EFC (expected family contribution). From that, a score is determined. Scores range from 0 to 99999. The lower the score, the more likely a student will be eligible for federal student assistance, meaning he would have access to a number of grants.
Grants and Student Assistance
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The EFC score is, in reality, not a score at all. It is a picture of how much a family can contribute, and how much funding in grants the student can qualify for. These grants are generally need-based, and are distributed to the lower-scoring students with the most need for assistance.
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What Determines the EFC Score?
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The EFC score is calculated for the benefit of a dependent student (not an independent student who has been living on his own). It takes into account the size of the family, the family's income and assets, other children in college, age of parents and age of the student, what state they reside in and how much the family pays in taxes. It also takes into account whether the student is married or has dependent children. There are also other factors used to determine the EFC score.
Types of Student Aid
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There are actually three different types of student aid for education. Grants, scholarships and student loans are all available. A grant is funding based on need and does not have to be repaid. Scholarships are also funding that does not have to be repaid. Qualifications for scholarships are different from grants in that they can be based on ethnic background or some accomplishment such as athletics or music. A student loan is a low-interest loan that does require repayment. A student loan generally does not require payments to begin until six months after graduation. The loan can be placed in forbearance (no payment due) for longer if the student is not working.
Qualification for Pell Grant
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For a Pell grant, the student cannot be incarcerated in any federal or state penal institution, and he has to be enrolled in an eligible school and program. The amount can be affected by whether the student if part time or full time, and whether he attends the school for an entire year. The EFC score is used to determine the eligibility for a Pell grant.
Apply for Assistance
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Students are all encouraged to apply for assistance, even if they think they could not qualify. There are many grant and scholarship programs available to encourage higher education.
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