Expected Family Contribution Overview

What is the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)? It is the amount a family can be expected to contribute toward a student’s college costs. Financial aid administrators determine an applicant’s need for federal student aid from the U.S. Department of Education and other sources of assistance by subtracting the EFC from the student’s cost of attendance (COA).

The expected family contribution formula is used to determine the need for federal aid from programs such as the following:

• Federal Pell Grants
• Subsidized Stafford Loans (through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan [DL] Program or through the Federal Family Education Loan [FFEL] Program)
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs)
• Perkins Loans
• Federal Work-Study (FWS)

All data used to calculate a student’s EFC comes from the information the student provides on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students who applied for federal student aid in prior years may be eligible to re-apply by filing a Renewal FAFSA online. Applying for federal aid is free. However, to be considered for non-federal aid (such as alternative student loans), a student may have to fill out additional forms.

Once the FAFSA has been processed, the student will receive a document containing information about his or her application results. This document, which can be paper or electronic, is called a Student Aid Report (SAR). The SAR lists all the information from the student’s application and indicates whether or not the application was complete and signed. If the application is complete, signed and there is no conflicting data, the SAR will also include the student’s expected family contribution.

Ready to apply for a FAFSA to determine your EFC?