Expected Family Contribution Calculator

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EFC Calculator

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Welcome to AidCalc's Free EFC Calculator

We are going to ask questions about you, your family, and your financial situation. This tool is intended to provide general guidance in planning your educational financing. Calculations are based on a student entering in the 2020 - 2021 academic year. We will also give you an estimate of your eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant and the Federal Direct Student Loan.

Learn more about the EFC

Prior Year EFC Calculators: 2019-2020

Please read our Terms of Use

Access to this AidCalc application is provided free for non-commercial use as a convenience to help you estimate your federal expected family contribution ("EFC"). Use for any other purpose is beyond the intended use of this application.

Access to this application is provided free of charge on an as-is basis, and AidCalc (EDspertise, LLC) makes no warranty with regard to the accuracy of these calculations or results and makes no warranty to the reliability or availability of this web service.

This calculator is not an application for financial aid, and does not represent a final determination, or actual federal Expected Family Contribution calculation. It is an estimate only based on the information provided. Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to be eligible for, and receive, Federal grant, loan, or work-study assistance.

We value your privacy: EDspertise, LLC will not capture, save or store any information that you enter into this calculator. We will not sell, rent, or share your personal information with anyone for any use without your consent.

Use of this calculator indicates your acceptance of these terms and conditions.

The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the amount congress has determined a family can be expected to contribute toward a student's college costs. The EFC is calculated using the data collected on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and a formula determined by the federal government. The EFC is one of the criteria used by colleges and universities to determine your eligibility for financial aid, but despite its name it is probably not the amount that you'll be expected to pay for college. Each institution has its own formula to determine your financial aid award.

If you'd like to learn more about it, the methodology for determining the EFC is found in Part F of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). The computation of the EFC for the 2020-2021 award year can be found in the PDF document linked here.

This calculator asks you all of the questions necessary for the federal formula, and is as streamlined as possible to allow you to skip any that are not required for you. The closer the information entered into this calculator is to what you enter when you actually do the FAFSA, the better the estimate will be. This calculator is intended as an estimate only, and we do not guarantee that the result will be exactly equal to your federally calculated EFC.

Source: IFAP website

The Pell Grant is a need-based federal grant for undergraduate students. Eligibility is determined by criteria established by the federal government.

For the 2020-2021 academic year, full time Pell Grant awards range from $639 to $6,345 for full year full time enrollment. A Pell Grant is free money that you don't have to pay back, and if you are eligible you can receive it at most colleges and universities by applying for financial aid.

The maximum EFC for Pell Grant eligibility is $5,711 for 2020-2021. If this calculator estimates your EFC to be greater than $5,711, we will assume that you are not eligible for the Pell Grant and your estimated Pell Grant will be $0. If you will be a student in a graduate program or have previously completed a Bachelor's Degree, you will not be eligible for the federal Pell Grant.

The Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP) is a federally funded loan program available to students in eligible degree-seeking programs, also known as Stafford loans. Both undergraduate and graduate students can receive federal loans, and no credit check is required. Federal loan eligibility ranges from $5,500 to $12,500 per year for undergraduates, depending on grade level, cost of the academic program, and whether the student is dependent or independent. Graduate students are eligible for up to $20,500 per year depending on the cost of the program. Repayment of Federal Direct Loans begins 6 months after the student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment (half-time enrollment is defined different ways by different colleges, so make sure to check with your institution for their definition).

There are two types of Federal Direct Loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. For subsidized loans, the government pays the interest while the student is in school, and during the 6 month grace period. The interest on unsubsidized loans is paid by the student, and the student can choose to pay it while in school or allow it to be capitalized (added to the total loan amount) after graduation. Students enrolled in graduate programs are not eligible for subsidized loans.

Interest rates for future years will be determined on July 1 of each year and fixed for the life of the loan. Undergraduate loan interest rates will be the yield of a 10 year Treasury note plus 2.05%. Graduate loan interest rates will be the yield of a 10 year Treasury note plus 3.6%. The interest rate for Federal Direct Student Loans borrowed between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 is fixed at 2.75% for undergraduate students (both subsidized and unsubsidized loans), and 4.30% for graduate students (unsubsidized loans). For more information see this Department of Education website.

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