Expected Family Contribution (EFC) vs Student Aid Index
Introduction
This blog explores the transition from Expected Family Contribution (EFC) to Student Aid Index (SAI), detailing how changes in financial aid calculations impact students. It delves into the reasons behind the shift, the differences between the two systems, and the implications for students seeking financial aid. The aim is to clarify the complexities of college funding in the context of the Expected Family Contribution vs Student Aid Index.
What is your EFC?
Your expected family contribution is a tool used to determine how much financial aid you are eligible for per year. This includes grants like the Pell Grant, which students do not have to pay back! The amount of aid you get depends on your family size, your household income, your assets, and the number of families that are currently going to college. This number is usually given at the end when students complete their FAFSA form to qualify for aid.
Is that How Much Aid I Get?
NO! Your EFC does not tell you how much aid you get but how much you qualify for. It is a tool used for students to see how much they qualify for instead. It is not the amount of money that families have to pay either. You can only see how much aid you are offered through financial packages from your universities.
What is FAFSA?
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a form that all students should fill out to determine their eligibility for financial aid. This is a form that is usually filled out on a yearly basis by June 30th. The earlier students fill out this form–the more aid they may qualify for. Additionally, most schools require students to fill out FAFSA to be eligible for their college’s financial aid program. This form usually requires information about their family’s finances, including their assets, household income, savings, etc. Students have to provide personal information like their social security number, tax returns, records of untaxed income, investments, and more. Check out our detailed guide on navigating FAFSA and securing various types of financial aid for college.
Alternatively, for students who are undocumented, they may fill out the DACA form instead.
What is DACA?
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is a form that undocumented students can utilize to qualify for financial aid. While DACA recipients are not qualified for federal financial aid, they can still receive some financial assistance via work study, state financial aid, institutional aid, or private scholarships. They use a CSS profile instead that works similarly to EFC.
The CSS profile (College Scholarship Service Profile) is used to assess a student’s finances for non-federal aid, which is usually given by the university itself. The CSS profile is more detailed than the FAFSA form, so it asks for more information, including a student’s income, expenses, medical history, etc. It may even ask for their non-custodial parents, which is submitted by a different form. This is beneficial to students because the DACA form considers a wider range of factors than the FAFSA.
Why is it Important to Know About Your EFC?
Understanding your EFC can help you plan for college expenses and explore more financial aid options, including various types of grants and scholarships. Colleges use this information to create financial packages for students, so it is important that students keep updating their Student Aid Report or SAR on their FAFSA to make sure their information is up to date. If their information is incorrect, this might prevent them from obtaining financial aid that they might qualify for.
What Does Your EFC Number Mean?
Your EFC number tells you how much you need to contribute, given how much your family makes. A higher EFC shows that your family is expected to contribute more towards college expenses, which might result in lower financial aid. A lower EFC shows that your family is expected to contribute less, which may qualify you for more financial aid. For example, if someone’s EFC number is 014000, they have to contribute $14,000 to their university. If they have 0, they don’t have to pay anything at all!
What Do They Use to Calculate EFC?
They usually use this formula:
Financial Need = Cost of Attendance − EFC
This will tell them how much aid is given to the student considering how much their college costs and how much their family is expected to contribute. They consider factors like the student’s tuition, fees, housing, supplies, expenses, and other costs to subtract from the EFC to calculate their financial need. Students would usually be able to assess this information via their financial packages.
What is the Student Aid Index?
Student Aid Index (SAI) is essentially the improved version of the EFC. This was implemented during the 2024-2025 school year and will continue to be used in FAFSA from now on. Like the FAFSA, it considers factors like a student’s household size, assets, income, etc. This change was due to misleading EFC numbers that caused mass confusion for numerous students.
How is it Different From EFC?
The SAI’s formulas were changed to provide a more straightforward and inclusive approach for students. It also considers special circumstances where students may have had high expenses or job losses that may have caused a significant change in their income. This is different from FAFSA because FAFSA just considers the amount you have at the time it is submitted. Hence, why students tend to spend more during FAFSA season, so their EFC would be lower. It is also less stressful to fill out compared to the FAFSA form–with their information saved via FSA IDs, so they don’t have to fill it out over and over again. Additionally, SAI numbers are even lower than EFC numbers, reaching the negatives that EFC didn’t allow before.
Updates
It eliminated factors like small businesses and untaxed income. This means that the money your great-grandfather gave to you in your 529 savings account will no longer be a factor in impacting your SAI. Before, it could negatively impact your financial aid, but now it is no longer in the equation. Additionally, students with drug-related convictions can also get federal aid now.
A Big Complication
One of the biggest changes was getting rid of the siblings discount because families with more than one child in college might see a decrease in financial aid because the SAI no longer accounts for the increased financial burden of having multiple students in college. SAI not considering multiple children is a big deal because many families rely on financial aid to support their children going to school. This makes it even harder for families to afford education than it already is. This may cause long-term effects and create a disproportionate gap in education among families.
What Can You Do?
Some colleges have their own standards for judging a student’s financial situation. Every student’s situation is unique, and they acknowledge that in their decisions. Some colleges are becoming “need-blind,” which means they will not consider students’ ability to pay the full tuition. On the other hand, some colleges, unfortunately, will make decisions based on the student’s ability to pay their tuition and fees. That is why it is always important for students to fill out FAFSA on time every year–to see if they qualify for any aid. They can also apply for more scholarships and work-study to help alleviate their financial stress. Families who now have a bigger financial burden due to the change can try to appeal for more aid if necessary.
Kollegio’s Role
The new change is making it hard for many students. Despite the unfairness of this new application, students must do what they can to meet their own financial needs. Kollegio is a tool that students can utilize when they need help the most.
Kollegio is a 100% AI counselor that can help students fill out applications like FAFSA when they need help. They do not need to wait for their counselor to be available to chat–Kollegio is here 24/7. If you have any questions, you can just look it up with our AI chatbot and get answers within seconds.
Kollegio is a great source for students to find scholarships outside of their university. It also helps students stay on track with their scholarship deadlines, so they will never miss one and get the financial aid that they need.
Conclusion
Overall, the new SAI has mixed reactions. Many families may be negatively impacted by this new change and have to work twice as hard to afford their children’s education. That is why they need resources and tools to help them during this tough process. AI is a great tool for students to use for scholarships and financial applications. Studying for classes is already hard enough. Now imagine worrying about whether you can even afford to attend these classes at the same time. No one wants that financial burden to affect their academics and their future careers.
By Vivian Duong
