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Expected family contribution
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<p>In the <a href="/facts/Post-secondary_education/WMN5RpeC">post-secondary education system</a> of the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a>, an expected family contribution (EFC) is an estimate of a student's, and for a dependent student, their parent(s)' or guardian(s)', ability to pay the costs of a year of <a href="/facts/Post-secondary_education/WMN5RpeC">post-secondary education</a>. The EFC is used in the <a href="/facts/Student_financial_aid_(United_States)/YqabPjxr">United States student financial aid</a> process to determine an applicant's eligibility for need-based federal student aid. In most cases, the same estimate is also used for state and institutional (college-based) financial aid. The EFC is included on the Student Aid Report and Institutional Student Information Record, which are sent after filing a form called a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (<a href="/facts/FAFSA/sfuThPyw">FAFSA</a>). </p><p>There are a number of free calculators on the Web to help applicants estimate the EFC before filing the FAFSA. Recipients of need-based financial aid must reapply for each year by completing a new FAFSA. </p><p>The term and concept of Expected Family Contribution was replaced by the term Student Aid Index (SAI) in 2024. While the minimum EFC was zero, the SAI can be a negative number as low as -1500. </p>