Where Do I Find My EFC on the FAFSA?
Discover where your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is located on your FAFSA Submission Summary to understand your financial aid eligibility.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) stands as a pivotal application for students seeking financial assistance for higher education. Completing this form is a necessary step to access federal student aid, including grants, scholarships, and loans. A significant outcome of submitting the FAFSA is the calculation of a number designed to indicate a student’s and their family’s financial strength, which helps determine eligibility for aid.
What Expected Family Contribution Means
The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) was an index number used by financial aid administrators to gauge a family’s ability to contribute to college costs. This figure was based on information provided in the FAFSA, including taxed and untaxed income, assets, and family size. It was important to understand that the EFC was not the amount a family would pay for college, nor was it the exact amount of federal student aid a student would receive. It served as a baseline to determine financial need, which is the difference between a college’s cost of attendance and the EFC.
For FAFSA applications submitted for the 2024-2025 academic year and beyond, the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) has been replaced by the Student Aid Index (SAI). This change was implemented to reduce confusion and provide greater transparency in the financial aid process, as many families mistakenly believed the EFC represented their actual bill. Like the EFC, the SAI is an index number that colleges use to calculate how much financial aid a student is eligible to receive.
The SAI calculation considers similar factors such as a student’s and their parents’ income, assets, and household demographics. However, a notable difference is that the SAI does not consider the number of family members simultaneously enrolled in college, a factor that previously influenced the EFC. Another distinction is that the SAI can be a negative number, as low as -1,500, indicating a higher level of financial need than the EFC, which had a minimum value of zero.
Finding Your Student Aid Index
After successfully submitting your FAFSA, you will receive a document known as the FAFSA Submission Summary. This document has replaced the former Student Aid Report (SAR) for current FAFSA cycles. The FAFSA Submission Summary provides a comprehensive overview of the information you reported and includes your calculated Student Aid Index.
To access your FAFSA Submission Summary, you should log in to your account on the official Federal Student Aid website, StudentAid.gov. Once logged in, navigate to the “My Activity” section of your dashboard. From there, you can select your processed FAFSA submission and then choose the option to “View FAFSA Submission Summary.” On the current FAFSA Submission Summary, your Student Aid Index (SAI) is typically found under the “Eligibility Overview” tab, usually positioned near the top of the document.
Key Information on Your FAFSA Submission Summary
The FAFSA Submission Summary contains more than just your Student Aid Index; it is a vital document that requires careful review. It provides a detailed review of all the information you entered on your FAFSA form. Ensuring the accuracy of this data is important because any errors could affect your eligibility for federal student aid.
The summary includes a section dedicated to your answers from the FAFSA form, allowing you to verify that all submitted data is correct. If you discover any mistakes, you can make corrections directly online by logging into your StudentAid.gov account and selecting the option to “Start Your Correction” from your dashboard. However, certain information, such as federal tax data transferred directly from the IRS, generally cannot be manually changed on the form.
Beyond your SAI and submitted answers, the FAFSA Submission Summary also provides estimated eligibility for federal student aid programs, such as the Federal Pell Grant and federal student loans, under the “Eligibility Overview” tab. These amounts are estimates and are not a final financial aid offer from a college. The summary lists the colleges and career schools to which your FAFSA information has been sent, and may even include comparative data on those institutions, such as graduation rates and average costs. A “Next Steps” tab often outlines any comments or actions required on your part.