Financial assistance from most of the programs is awarded on the basis of financial need (except for the unsubsidized Stafford, and all PLUS and Consolidation loans).
When you apply for federal student aid with the FAFSA application, the information you report is used in a formula established by the U.S. Congress. The formula determines your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), an amount you and your family are expected to contribute toward your education. If your EFC is below a certain amount, you'll be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, assuming you meet all other eligibility requirements.
There isn't a maximum EFC that defines eligibility for the other financial aid programs. Instead, your EFC is used in an equation to determine your financial need:
Cost of Attendance |
Your financial aid administrator (from the particular campus' financial aid office) calculates your cost of attendance and subtracts the amount you and your family are expected to contribute toward that cost. If there's anything left over, you're considered to have financial need. In determining your need for aid from the Student Financial Aid Programs, your financial aid administrator must first consider other aid you're expected to receive.
Your financial aid administrator can adjust data used to calculate your EFC or adjust your cost of attendance if he or she believes your family's financial circumstances warrant it based on the documentation you provide. However, the financial aid administrator does not have to make such an adjustment.
You can get a booklet called The EFC Formula Book, which describes how a student's EFC is calculated, by writing to: