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34-493: The FAFSA is different from CSS Profile (short for "College Scholarship Service Profile"), which is also required by some colleges (primarily private ones). The CSS is a fee-based product of the College Board (a private non-profit organization) and is used by the colleges to distribute their own institutional funds, rather than federal or state funding. In order to receive federal student financial aid, students must meet

68-552: A FAFSA even if they also apply for education and housing benefits offered by the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and its accompanying Yellow Ribbon program. The amount of military aid a student receives for a college education does not defer eligibility or reduce the amount of student aid that student could receive from the four federal grant programs – Pell , SMART, FSEOG , and TEACH – and many of the state student aid programs. Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) of 2010 changed

102-520: A financial aid award. These circumstances include: Aspects that are not considered in the calculation of the EFC are: A common misconception is that the EFC is a statement of what the family actually will pay. This is usually not the case, and many families pay more, sometimes much more, than the EFC. The college's costs, minus the EFC, gives the student's financial need. Most four-year colleges do not have enough financial aid to meet students' needs, and as

136-493: A financial aid package for the student. Generally speaking, the lower the EFC, the higher the financial aid award will be. Zero is the lowest EFC number (indicating that the family cannot afford to pay anything) and 999,999 is the highest. Some relatively wealthy colleges and universities use another method called the CSS Profile , or have their own form, to calculate their own version of an EFC, which they use in distributing

170-571: A financial need. The formula for computing the EFC changes each year. It is different for each of three categories of student (dependent students, independent students without dependents other than a spouse, and independent students with dependents other than a spouse) and is published in the Federal Register . An Department of Education document explaining how the EFC is determined was 36 pages long in 2017. It considers income, family size, living expenses, and family and student savings. If

204-477: A free service, provides template letters for college students to use when appealing their financial aid. Currently, students can only list ten schools on their FAFSA application. If students are applying to more than 10 colleges or universities, there are three options they can choose from that allow them to submit their FAFSA application to additional schools. Federal Student Aid offers several different types of financial aid programs. FAFSA originally came from

238-429: A minor child are categorized as Dependent Students, and the parents' income and assets are used in determining the EFC. Even if the parents have no intention of helping pay the student's college expenses, which legally they are not required to do, the student remains considered a dependent and the parents' income and assets are used in determining the EFC and through it, the student's financial aid award. Put differently, if

272-429: A result, the unmet need must be paid by the parents, in addition to the EFC. The federal government offers unsubsidized Stafford Loans , which are available to any family regardless of need, as a source of funds to cover the unmet need. In cases in which a student qualifies for merit-based (rather than need-based) financial aid, the student and their family may pay less than the EFC. A well-to-do family's EFC may exceed

306-494: A second offense. Most students who are eligible to receive federal aid and complete the FAFSA will receive some form of financial aid regardless of their financial need. The FAFSA is made available to the public on October 1 every year for the future academic year. Since the 2017–2018 academic year , it becomes available on October 1 every year. The US Department of Education made the FAFSA available earlier to more closely align

340-479: Is an estimate of a student's, and for a dependent student, their parent(s)' or guardian(s)', ability to pay the costs of a year of post-secondary education . The EFC is used in the United States student financial aid process to determine an applicant's eligibility for need-based federal student aid. In most cases, the same estimate is also used for state and institutional (college-based) financial aid. The EFC

374-582: Is an online application created and maintained by the United States–based College Board that allows incoming and current college students to apply for non-federal financial aid . It is primarily designed to give member institutions of the College Board a comprehensive look at the financial and family situation of students and their families to use as they determine their eligibility for institutional financial aid. The CSS Profile

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408-559: Is included on the Student Aid Report and Institutional Student Information Record, which are sent after filing a form called a Free Application for Federal Student Aid ( FAFSA ). There are a number of free calculators on the Web to help applicants estimate the EFC before filing the FAFSA. Recipients of need-based financial aid must reapply for each year by completing a new FAFSA. The term and concept of Expected Family Contribution

442-464: Is used to determine student financial aid by approximately 400 colleges, universities, and scholarship programs in the United States. This article relating to education in the United States is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Expected Family Contribution In the post-secondary education system of the United States , an expected family contribution ( EFC )

476-494: The FAFSA Simplification Act in 2020 . Some of these changes were initially plagued with technical errors and glitches, causing significant delays in the release of data to colleges and universities and considerable confusion and frustration among parents and students. Students from disadvantaged groups and low-income backgrounds are among the vulnerable student demographics who were disproportionately impacted by

510-633: The 1965 Higher Education Act (HEA) by President Lyndon Johnson , this established the United States Government as the primary provider of financial aid for students. For years the application was called Financial Aid Form (FAF), which was an optional form used by some—but not all—colleges and universities. When Congress reauthorized the HEA in 1992 they created a standardized federal form for all prospective students seeking aid. The stated goal of FAFSA and other government funded education programs

544-624: The Department of Education employee in charge of Federal Student Aid, subsequently announced his resignation at the end of June. In order to fill out the FAFSA, parents and students must create an FSA ID. Inconsistent personal information caused problems for some individuals surrounding ID verification, including errors in names, addresses, and other information, which has led to delays in the processing of applications for financial assistance. Students from disadvantaged groups and low-income backgrounds are thought to be disproportionately impacted by

578-404: The EFC, the actual impact on the final EFC calculation will depend on the specific circumstances of the family and the policies of the institution providing the financial aid. Items that lower a student's EFC: Colleges or universities have the legal authority to lower the EFC if there are unusual circumstances, usually brought to the financial aid office's attention as the result of an appeal of

612-687: The IRS Data Retrieval Tool in the FAFSA to verify their tax information without a delay from the IRS processing tax information. Some financial aid is provided on a first-come, first-served basis, and students are encouraged to submit a FAFSA as soon as possible. According to the U.S. Department of Education's website, students have three options for filling out the form: The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 authorized fee-based FAFSA preparation. By law, fee-based FAFSA preparation services must on initial contact with students inform them of

646-455: The application. After completing the FAFSA, students are presented with a Student Aid Report (SAR). The SAR provides a student with their potential eligibility for different types of financial aid, their Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and a summary of the data a student provided in the application. An electronic version of the SAR (called an ISIR) is made available to the colleges/universities

680-463: The college's aid. A major difference between the FAFSA and the CSS Profile is that the CSS Profile includes primary residence home equity when determining the ability of the family to pay, while the FAFSA does not. The EFC is subtracted from the cost of attendance (COA) of the college or university to determine a student's financial need. If COA > EFC , then a student is considered to have

714-431: The cost of attendance at a school, and in that case the student does not have financial need, as defined by the federal financial aid system. In some cases, despite financial hardship for the student, the student's family will simply be unwilling to pay the full amount, leaving the student to find their own way to finance their college education, or forgo it. Students who are unmarried, younger than 24, and not supporting

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748-421: The criteria for suspension of eligibility for drug-related offenses. Previously, students could lose eligibility for either the possession or sale of a controlled substance during the period of enrollment. SAFRA dropped the penalties for possession of a controlled substance but retained the penalties for sale of a controlled substance. SAFRA increases the suspension to two years for a first offense and indefinite for

782-719: The following criteria: Male students between the ages of 18 and 25 were generally required be registered with the Selective Service System (for Conscription in the United States ), but the FAFSA Simplification Act removed this requirement starting with the 2021–2022 school year. The FAFSA Simplification Act was a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 . Students who are military veterans and active duty service members may apply for financial aid by filing

816-403: The free option and be transparent about their non-affiliation with the U.S. Department of Education and their fees. Applicants complete the FAFSA by providing their demographic and financial information and, in many cases, the demographic and financial information of their parents/guardians. In addition to this demographic and financial information, applicants can list up to ten schools to receive

850-412: The option to link their IRS account with their FAFSA account to make the application simpler to complete accurately. Students must now report the value of their family business or farm. The Consolidated Appropriations Act also opened financial aid eligibility to students that had previously been excluded from the program. In 2024, the Department of Education made substantial changes to FAFSA in response to

884-510: The results of the application once it is processed. Historically, there was some concern that colleges could deny admission, waitlist applicants, or offer less financial aid as a result of the order in which applicants list schools on the application, or FAFSA position . However, the US Department of Education changed the FAFSA for the 2016–2017 academic year to prevent schools from having access to view other schools that may be listed on

918-442: The student includes on the FAFSA. The ISIR is also sent to state agencies that award need-based aid. Students can file an appeal with their college financial aid office in order to seek additional financial aid if their current financial situation is no longer the same as the financial information they provided on FAFSA (i.e. their parent recently lost their job). The exact appeal process can vary from school to school. SwiftStudent ,

952-567: The student is a dependent, the student's savings and income, if any, are considered highly available to pay for college. A student with a college savings fund in his or her name will have a higher EFC (if not qualifying for an automatic zero), and will thus receive less need-based aid. Factors that may reduce the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) when calculating financial aid eligibility include: It's important to note that while these considerations can potentially reduce

986-509: The technical obstacles. Many are urging changes to the FAFSA application process in order to resolve these technical issues and guarantee fair access to financial assistance. They contend that students are unfairly burdened by the current system, especially those who already face obstacles to pursuing higher education. CSS Profile The CSS Profile , short for the College Scholarship Service Profile ,

1020-403: The technical obstacles. These students might not have access to the tools or assistance they need to deal with the challenges of submitting a financial aid application. The problems with the FAFSA resulted in a congressional hearing where witnesses reported that the multiple errors and delays in releasing data to colleges and universities could significantly diminish enrollment. Richard Cordray ,

1054-546: The timing of the financial aid application process with the typical college application process. The FAFSA Deadline Act in 2024 made the October availability date part of the law. The 2016–2017 academic year was the final time the FAFSA was not made available until January 1. Two-year old US tax information is used to complete the financial sections of the FAFSA beginning with the 2017–2018 academic year. This change in using "prior-prior tax year" information enables families to use

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1088-432: Was a significant barrier for many low-income families seeking financial aid. The questions were broadly seen as excessively detailed and unnecessarily complicated, with students being required to dedicate several hours to completing their application. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 shortened the FAFSA from 108 questions to 36, to encourage more eligible students to fill out the form. In addition, students now have

1122-453: Was replaced by the term Student Aid Index (SAI) in 2024. While the minimum EFC was zero, the SAI can be a negative number as low as -1500. The federal government does not distribute aid directly to the student or the student's family; it goes through the college. Colleges use the student's federal student aid eligibility and combine it with state financial aid (if any) and their own aid to create

1156-496: Was to create equal opportunities for students seeking higher education. When the HEA was reauthorized again in 2008 lawmakers added a clause that schools must report information about who is receiving financial aid. Subsequent studies revealed continued inequality for students of color, who often had to take out more student loans than more privileged counterparts. Recent updates have been made to increase accessibility of financial aid. The original FAFSA form had 108 questions, which

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