How much financial aids can I receive for school?

Parents often ask, “How much financial aids can my son/daughter receive for school?” 

First thing you will need to do is to: fill out your FAFSA Form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Once the Office of U.S. Dept of Education process your application, they will send your info to all of the schools you listed on FAFSA. It’s kind of like a One-Stop Shop, each school will use the FAFSA information to make decision on how much financial aid you are eligible. Each school’s schedule is totally different. You must check with each school to find out when you can expect to receive a financial aid offer.

Different schools have different formulas, but basically, they use these three factors:

1. Status: Your status of school enrollment (FT – full-time, HT – Half-time, LHT – less than half-time, etc.)

Your status of school enrollment will impact the dollar amount you qualify for. For example, certain student loans are available only to students enrolled more than half-time.

2. COA: Cost of Attendance (👍metrics to compare schools)

COA is usually available on the school’s website. COA usually includes: a) Tuition and Fees, b) Room and Board, c) Books, supplies, living expenses, transportation, loan fees, and more. COA varies from school to school and it’s a very realistic metrics when comparing schools in a whole. Some schools may have lower tuition, but living expenses are much more higher.

3. EFC: Expected Family Contribution ()

EFC is the main piece of the puzzle. It’s the main info you wrote on FAFSA. The EFC is not necessarily the amount of money your family will have to pay out of pocket for college. It’s not just income and it’s not the financial aid you will receive. However, it is a main # used by your school to calculate how much financial aid you are eligible for at that school.

If you have questions about your EFC, contact the financial aid office at your selected college.

Schools then use this formula to determine your financial need:

Cost of Attendance (COA) – Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Financial Need

Once the school determined your needs + accepted you, you will receive financial aid offers from the schools. All your financial aid offers will be different. Different schools have different aids programs and even same school has different aids available in different years. So you have to be in it to win it.

Different offers can come from different sources: school itself, private foundations, state or federal level. Make sure you understand the type of funding and if you will need to pay back or not.