What Is Expected Family Contribution (EFC)?
Expected Family Contribution, or EFC, was a number calculated from the information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA, in the United States. It was used to estimate how much a family could be expected to contribute to a student's college costs, and it helped determine a student's eligibility for need-based federal aid. Beginning with the 2024 to 2025 FAFSA cycle, it was replaced by the Student Aid Index, or SAI.
What EFC was
The EFC was produced by a federal formula that considered a family's income, assets, household size, number of children in college and other factors. Financial aid offices subtracted the EFC from the cost of attendance to find a student's financial need. For example, if the cost of attendance was $30,000 and the EFC was $8,000, the student's need was $22,000.
The EFC was not necessarily the amount a family would actually pay, and it did not guarantee aid, since colleges have different funds and policies.
What changed
The FAFSA Simplification Act replaced EFC with the Student Aid Index. The SAI is calculated in a similar way but with updated rules, such as changes to how family size and multiple children in college are treated. It can be a negative number, down to a set minimum, to distinguish levels of high need, and it is used as an index for aid eligibility and not as a prediction of what a family will pay.
Because the name changed, you may still see EFC used in older materials, financial aid calculators and everyday conversation.
How colleges use it
Federal aid is calculated using the SAI, and many colleges use the FAFSA to award institutional aid. Some private colleges also use other forms, such as the CSS Profile, with different formulas.
Tips
- Complete the FAFSA each year by the deadlines.
- Use official calculators to estimate your SAI.
- Compare award letters and ask about appeals if your circumstances change.
- Remember that the index is not a price tag.
Related terms
See dependency status, sticker price, need-blind admissions, loan servicer and tuition waiver.
Frequently asked questions
Is EFC the same as the Student Aid Index?
The Student Aid Index replaced EFC in the redesigned FAFSA. It is also an eligibility index used to calculate aid, and it can be zero or negative, unlike a payment amount.
Does the EFC or SAI mean what I must pay?
No. It is an index for calculating need-based federal aid. Colleges may expect more or less, and your actual costs depend on the college's price and aid.
How is it calculated?
From information on the FAFSA such as income, assets, family size and number in college, using a federal formula. Details change, so see the official FAFSA guidance.