7. After the FAFSA
After you’ve filled out your
FAFSA… what’s next?
a. The SAR and EFC
When you’re preparing to fill out your
FAFSA, you may hear the terms Student Aid Report (
SAR) and Expected Family Contribution (
EFC). Basically, your
SAR is a report of the results of the calculation that the federal government runs based on the information you provide on your
FAFSA. Your
EFC is the result being reported on the
SAR. Your
SAR will be sent to you and to any school that you designated on the
FAFSA. You may also send your
SAR to any schools that you didn’t note on the
FAFSA but are considering attending by going to
www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/addschool.jsp. You will need to use your
PIN.
Many families ask, “Does Expected Family Contribution (
EFC) mean that the government expects me to be able to pay that amount out of pocket?” The answer is no. While some families are able to pay their
EFC, many more use student
loans or other borrowed income to help fill the gap. Although the government does not expect you to pay the
EFC out of pocket, that number does represent the amount that they believe you should be responsible for paying, based on the information about your financial situation that you provided on the
FAFSA.
One important aspect of student financial aid is that, after you have paid the college for tuition, fees, and dormitory expenses (if you live on campus) with financial aid, any amount that may be left is given to you to use over the rest of the term. This refund is the way you might buy books, pay for transportation, or support yourself as you go to school. Talk to your financial aid office to see if you will receive a refund to be used for living expenses while you are in school. We've developed a budget planning tool to assist you in making that refund last for an entire school term.