Qualifying for Financial Aid for College

The economy continues to narrow its tight grip on college fees. For many college-bound students, their education depends on how much financial aid they can get. Here are 5 ways to maximize your chances getting financial aid.

Understanding Your EFC

Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is one of the most important numbers that determines how successful your application for need-based financial aid will be. You can only qualify for need based grants if your EFC is less than the cost of your education.

Don’t Count on Merit Money

Unless you have outstanding credentials or talent, getting merit based scholarships is easier said than done. This is because there aren’t enough scholarship grants available to fund all need-based applications. Scholarships and need-based financial aid are two completely different subjects and should not be confused. Your first priority should be to qualify for the need-based money.

Talk to your College Financial Aid Counselor

While coming up with an EFC number is a good way to initiate an application for financial aid, it is important to get in touch with your college financial aid counselor. College policies can significantly influence the EFC by thousands of dollars, not to mention the authority that aid officers ultimately have when it comes to making influential decisions on your application.

The Factors Influencing EFC

Calculating EFC is different for every family and depends on a number of factors. This includes how expensive the college is, family size, total income from both parents, total assets and the number of children attending colleges. This means if your family is earning $200,000 with a child attending public university, you might not qualify for aid. A family earning $400,000 with two children attending expensive private colleges will.

Filling Out the Application Forms

You can’t dodge these applications. You will have to fill out at least one complicated aid application form. You can fill the basic aid application, the FAFSA, using the official link here. It might take an hour or so of collecting relevant data and punching in the right numbers, but once you’re done, you might just qualify for thousands of dollars in aid. Not a bad proposition.