Is there a way to calculate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC)?

[Tigriski]

I know there is a formula for Federal Aid (called the federal method). And there is also a way to calculate it for an institution (Institutional Method). But I am not sure if these apply JUST to undergrads and not medical students.

In general its Cost of Attendance (COA)- expected family contribution (EFC)= need (loans, scholarships, etc.)

Can someone enlighten me on roughly finding EFC? how do they take into account assets? does home equity matter if its your primary home? when you enter into medical school your independent, however for the past year your parent probably claimed you as 'dependent.' (I am 23, will be 24. my parent will not claim me next tax year). I have lots of questions about the black box that is financial aid.

Is there anyone here thoroughly knowledgable on this or knows where to find reliable information?

Again, this is not about federal aid (FAFSA) it's about institutional analysis of your parents information to determine need. Also, I am sort of looking for an example; but one that is not simple like Harvards. e.g. your parents make less than 100k? okay full tuition. I'm not lucky enough to be in that situation that would make it that simple.

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[ciestar]

Well, know at the end of the day, you can take up to full COA in loans regardless of EFC.

 

[Tigriski]

Well, know at the end of the day, you can take up to full COA in loans regardless of EFC.

i know this. It's valuable to estimate EFC if you are choosing between a state school and a private school. private likely gives out more scholarships than the public school. So it may be cheaper, if you know your EFC. That is the reason I am asking this question.

 

[ciestar]

i know this. It's valuable to estimate EFC if you are choosing between a state school and a private school. private likely gives out more scholarships than the public school. So it may be cheaper, if you know your EFC. That is the reason I am asking this question.

Gotcha. I definitely misread the end of your post. Even so, you’ll be able to pay either way.

As to your question, I am not sure. Sorry!

 

[Tigriski]

To anyone looking at this post, this article is a little helpful for understanding.

 

[lalalallala]

I know there is a formula for Federal Aid (called the federal method). And there is also a way to calculate it for an institution (Institutional Method). But I am not sure if these apply JUST to undergrads and not medical students.

In general its Cost of Attendance (COA)- expected family contribution (EFC)= need (loans, scholarships, etc.)

Can someone enlighten me on roughly finding EFC? how do they take into account assets? does home equity matter if its your primary home? when you enter into medical school your independent, however for the past year your parent probably claimed you as 'dependent.' (I am 23, will be 24. my parent will not claim me next tax year). I have lots of questions about the black box that is financial aid.

Is there anyone here thoroughly knowledgable on this or knows where to find reliable information?

Again, this is not about federal aid (FAFSA) it's about institutional analysis of your parents information to determine need. Also, I am sort of looking for an example; but one that is not simple like Harvards. e.g. your parents make less than 100k? okay full tuition. I'm not lucky enough to be in that situation that would make it that simple.

Unfortunately, I don't think there's a great way for you to estimate this unknown (the EFC). Institutions likely all do it differently and definitely colleges are different from medical schools. Some colleges use net worth and others use income and cash assets but not homes. Schools can do what they want. They can take into account both of your parents or only your custodial parent if your parents are divorced or they can not include parents at all if the parents aren't contributing. You should receive your financial aid papers before you have to make a decision, so you may just have to wait it out a little longer. In my undergrad experience, schools with less financial aid money/endowment made my EFC much larger than schools that had more money. To me this made sense - it was a way for the schools with less money to seem like they weren't making me take out more loans when in reality I would have had to take out loans to pay the crazy EFC.

 

[907914]

On this topic, will schools for whatever reason as for the income of in-laws? They are a form of parent...I doubt it, but still curious.

 

[lalalallala]

On this topic, will schools for whatever reason as for the income of in-laws? They are a form of parent...I doubt it, but still curious.

never seen this and it seems really unreasonable. You, your parents, and your spouse if you have one

 

[ciestar]

On this topic, will schools for whatever reason as for the income of in-laws? They are a form of parent...I doubt it, but still curious.

Ive never been asked this.

 

[riverrunner]

Here's some clarification on terminology:

EFC (Expected Family Contribution) is a constant, recalculated each year, based on student (and parents') tax return. It's the number calculated when you run a FAFSA.

COA (Cost of Attendance) is also a fixed number, determined by each school, and is the sum of tuition, out-of-state tuition premium, and a housing and food estimate, plus a bunch of incidentals. It's the big number on the financial page for each school, and may increase each year.

Net Price is the number that can shift around, depending on the circumstances of the student and the generosity of the school. It is calculated by a school-dependent formula. Schools that promise to meet the financial need of students may end up arriving at a Net Price that is close to the EFC, so that there is no gap left over for the student to try and fund, aside from the EFC. Well-endowed schools are likely to use an institutional formula that is more generous to the student and may not include things like non-custodial parent income, parent home equity, and so on. The Net Price also is stated after applying whatever merit scholarships the school might offer.

The Gap is the difference between the Net Price and the EFC. This is the part that the student must pay out-of-pocket, or borrow. They must also pay the EFC, of course, and that may be as low as 0 for a low income student (and parents) or a number actually exceeding the COA, if the student (and parents) have high incomes. Retirement funds are generally sheltered from the calculation. Everything else may be fair game for inclusion in assets to tap to pay your bill.

Saying you have been "gapped" $50K might mean the COA is $90K, your EFC is $10K, the school came up with $20K of need aid, and $20K in merit scholarship money. You must pay the EFC of $10k plus the $50k gap. You might end up borrowing all $60k because the $10k EFC wasn't doable in the first place, if your parents were never planning to help with medical school, and/or you don't happen to have that lying around.