SmartAboutCollege
Pay for College
Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator
To get an idea about the amount of federal financial aid your child may receive — or how much you will need to pay for your child’s education (Expected Family Contribution — EFC) — go to www.Fafsa4Caster.ed.gov.
This free calculator is available year-round, and it generally takes about 20-30 minutes to input the required information to receive your results.
To use the calculator, have the following information ready:
- The student’s Social Security number.
- The student’s and parent’s W-2s from the previous tax year.
- The student’s and parent’s tax return from the previous year.
- Current bank and investment statements.
- Current mortgage summary.
Many of the questions included in the EFC calculator are similar, or even identical, to those asked in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Getting a college education requires an investment of time, effort, and money. Fortunately, help is available. One of the most common ways that students pay for college is with federal financial aid. Federal financial aid includes grants, work-study and federal student loans. It is to your advantage that both you and your student understand the financial aid process.
