After You Apply
FAFSA Results
The federal government will process your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and electronically send the results to the Financial Aid Office provided you listed California as one of the schools to receive the results of your FAFSA. You should receive a paper Student Aid Report (SAR) in the mail approximately 7-10 days after the federal processor receives your FAFSA. You should review the SAR to see if any corrections are necessary. Otherwise, you can keep the SAR for your records.
When you apply for federal student aid, the information reported on the FAFSA is used in a formula approved by Congress. This federal formula determines a student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC), the amount the family (student and parents, if applicable) is expected to contribute toward the student's education. The basic elements included in determining the EFC are:
- contribution from the parents' income and assets
- contribution from the student's income and assets
- number of members in the household
- number of family members enrolled at least half-time in college
You can obtain an estimate of your EFC yourself by using the Web calculator available at www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml . The lower the EFC, the more financial need a student will have. The lowest EFC possible is zero; the highest is 99,999 or above.
If the student's EFC is 4041 or less, the student may qualify for a federal Pell Grant (only students pursuing their first baccalaureate degree are eligible). To determine eligibility for other federal aid, a student's EFC is used in the following equation:
Cost-of-Attendance (-) Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Financial Need
Your demonstrated financial need will determine which programs you qualify for. Even if you have no financial need, you will still qualify for the Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan and/or Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student (PLUS). Your parent must be willing to apply for the PLUS Loan and have a satisfactory credit history.