What the number “1038” means is that it is estimating that you are going to pay that much out of your pocket for your education. If your EFC was 0, you would not pay anything. However, you are able to apply for student loans which you do NOT have to pay back until you have dropped below 6 hours a semester (half time) or have left school in which they become due 6 months after you leave.

Are you 24 years or older, married , or have kids? This is when you’re considered as an independent for financial aid. If not, they require you to include parental income. The EFC is the expected family contribution. If yours is 1038, that is the amount that you are expected to contribute for the school year in which you applied. The financial aid person at your college will calculate how much aid you’ll receive by subtracting the EFC number from the school costs that they calculated. This gives you your “financial need” and awards are given based on that this need. If you don’t receive the whole amount of your need in grants, they will offer you loans or work study. You should also apply for scholarships and state grants if your state has them. I’m in CA and we have Cal Grants as well. Usually you have to wait 4 weeks or so after receiving your SAR/EFC number before a financial aid package is made. They may offer you some grants with that amount, but probably more loans. Even people with EFCs with O attending universities don’t have everything paid for. They have to take out additional loans. Hope this helps.

your EFC is your expected family contribution. yours states that you should be able to spend $1038 out of pocket for this academic year. you will receive a letter from your school indicating how much aid you will be getting. there may be more paperwork for your school’s financial aid process which you would have to complete before getting your award letter. it usually takes a couple of weeks to receive your award letter from the school. talk with your financial aid office to find out what you need to do to complete the process. good luck!!

FAFSA itself doesn’t pay anything. It is the individual school which looks at the FAFSA eligibility and determines what that means to them in terms of what type of financial aid you are eligible for. Even things like government grants will vary by school because of the different costs involved at each school. You need to talk to the financial aid office at the university you are interested in to find out if, and how much, you are eligible for.

Your EFC is your Estimated Family Contribution. There is really no way to tell how much they will pay for. They factor in how much you make and your ability to pay and will help you with what they think you’ll need help with.

I found interesting information about your answer, college loans, scholarships, college grants & partime works here.

http://all-student-loan-consolidation.blogspot.com/2007/07/scholarships.html

Good luck!