Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

What is the EFC?

The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is a number that determines a student’s eligibility for federal student aid. The EFC formulas use the financial information a student provides on his or her Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA registered trademark) to calculate the EFC. The financial aid officer (FAO) subtracts the EFC from a student’s cost of attendance (COA) to determine his or her need for the following federal student financial assistance offered by the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) at the technical college:

Federal Pell Grants and/or
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG).

The methodology for determining the EFC is found in Part F of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).

What is the source of data used in EFC calculations?

All data used to calculate a student’s EFC comes from the information the student provides on the FAFSA. A student may submit a FAFSA:

by using FAFSA on the Web,
by filing an application electronically through a school, or
by mailing a FAFSA to the Central Processing System (CPS).

Students who applied for federal student aid in the previous award year may be eligible to reapply using a renewal FAFSA online. Applying for federal aid is free, but to be considered for non-federal aid (such as institutional aid), students may have to fill out additional forms, which might require fees.

Staff encourages applicants to complete the FAFSA electronically, because there are edits that reduce applicant errors and customize the questions presented based on answers to prior questions. The electronic version also contains additional instructions and help features and allows the Department to send results to the students and schools more quickly.

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