FAFSA Form & Financial Aid Form Blog

Source: FAFSA blog

The FAFSA4Caster is the Department of Education’s financial aid estimation calculator, and the one thing that sets it apart from every other calculator online is that the results from your estimate can be fed directly into a FAFSA application, reducing the time it takes to file a FAFSA. However, the output of the FAFSA4Caster isn’t always clear. Here’s a line by line analysis of the various numbers it returns.

First, the FAFSA4Caster tells you what you’re qualified for and the average or maximum amount of aid available. Here’s a recent report:

• Federal Pell Grant $4,310 / $4,310
• Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)* $750 /$750
• Federal Stafford Loan (Subsidized) $3,500 / $3,500
• Below you will see other sources of federal aid that you may receive. These amounts are based on the average award amount that other students have received.
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) $765 / $765
• Federal Work-Study $1,200 / $1,455
• Federal Perkins Loan $0 / $2,185
• Average Cost of Attendance $10,525 / $18,875
• Total Estimated Aid Eligibility $10,525 / $12,965
• Estimated Need $0 / $5,910

Let’s examine this report line by line.

The Federal Pell Grant is a need-based grant from the government. In the example above, the student has qualified for the maximum amount of Pell Grant aid available and it will be awarded automatically in the student’s financial aid package.

The Academic Competitiveness Grant is a partial merit, partial need-based grant for students. In order to receive it, the student must meet academic qualifications and be eligible for the Pell Grant.

The Federal Stafford Loan, subsidized, is a student loan backed by the federal government with interest that is paid for by the government while you’re in school.

The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) is another need-based grant that supplements the Pell Grant for the neediest students.

Federal Work Study is employment in which the pay you earn goes to pay your tuition. Federal work study was designed to create jobs, even where jobs might not have existed, for the sole purpose of helping students earn money.

The Federal Perkins Loan is school-based student loan available at a fixed interest rate.

The most important thing about this award letter is that the last line is actually a misnomer. Estimated need in this case isn’t how much you need, but rather how much out of pocket money you’ll need to pay for school. This is otherwise known as the EFC, or Expected Family Contribution, and in the example above is the best case scenario: nothing.