What About Finances?

The Government's Role

The U.S. Congress and the Department of Education have established the basic parameters under which eligibility for financial aid programs is calculated. When a student submits their FAFSA, the information goes to the FAFSA’s Central Processing System. Once there, the FAFSA data is run through analysis and a calculation to yield the student’s EFC, or Expected Family Contribution. This information is then forwarded to the school(s) the student listed on their FAFSA to be used in awarding.

But how does the Federal Processor come up with your EFC? They take the information you’ve submitted on the FAFSA, make some initial assessments of the data, and then run it through one of several calculations. Which calculation is used depends primarily on your dependency status. A student is considered a independent in the financial aid world if they are older than 24, are a graduate student, are married, have dependents of their own, are a veteran, or are an orphan or ward of the court.

Once your dependency status has been determined by data you submitted on the FAFSA, your EFC will be calculated according to the appropriate formula, using the financial and demographic information you provided on your FAFSA.