What Does My EFC Code for Financial Aid Mean

What Does My EFC Code for Financial Aid Mean? How Your EFC Affects Federal Aid While colleges do tend to use your EFC to help determine institutional scholarships and loans, determining how your EFC might affect your federal options is easy because the Department of Education has clear and uniform guidelines on how much money you can receive based on your EFC. Related Articles Direct Student Government Loans Direct Student Government Loans What Is a Good EFC Number? What Is a Good EFC Number? How to Reduce Your Expected Family Contribution How to Reduce Your Expected Family Contribution Federal Aid Based on EFC 2016-2017 EFC Code Pell Grant Subsidized Loan Unsubsidized Loan EFC 00000 $5,815 $3,500 $2,000 EFC 01401 $4,365 $3,500 $2,000 EFC 02426 $3,365 $3,500 $2,000 EFC 03401 $2,365 $3,500 $2,000 EFC 04105 $1,665 $3,500 $2,000 EFC 05235* $0 $3,500 $2,000 EFC 08326 $0 $3,500 $2,000 EFC 10000 $0 $3,500 $2,000 EFC 15000 $0 $3,500 $2,000 EFC 20000 $0 $0 $5,500 *An EFC of 5235 is the cutoff for Pell grant eligibility. Federal Pell Grant Federal aid programs, such as the Pell Grant, are fairly predictable. Each year the Department of Education issues an EFC Pell grant chart that lists clearly what Pell grant amount you will receive based on your EFC code. Keep in mind that a student's enrollment status, such as half-time or full-time, changes the Pell amount for which the student is eligible. (Going to school half-time gets half the amount of Pell grant money.) Federal Direct Loans In the federal government's Direct Loan Program, students can receive loans at amounts preset by the government. There are two kinds of Direct Loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. First-year dependent students have a cap of $5,500 in Direct Loans total (both subsidized and unsubsidized). It's important to note: All students, regardless of EFC, can qualify for the Unsubsidized Direct Loan. "Unsubsidized" means the government does not pay the accruing interest for the student while she is in school. This is why Unsubsidized Loans have the same amounts across the board in the examples above. Not all students, however, will qualify for the Subsidized Direct Loan. "Subsidized" means the government pays any accruing interest while the student is in school so that the student does not owe as much when she graduates How Your EFC Might Affect School Grants Institutions use a student's EFC as a barometer for a student's financial need. The formula for financial need is a school's Cost of Attendance (COA) minus the student's EFC. Within the COA, schools calculate: Tuition and fees Books and supplies Transportation and personal expenses Room and board Loan fees Miscellaneous expenses related to your schooling such as study abroad, cooperation participation fees, etc.