expected family contribution (EFC)

finance

Also known as: EFC

Written byTimothy Lake

Fact-checked byThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Also Known As:: EFC

Before the 2024–25 academic year, when it was replaced by the Student Aid Index (SAI), the expected family contribution (EFC) represented how much your family was expected to contribute toward your college costs. The formula, which was established by law, took into account:

Your family’s income (taxed and untaxed)
Your family’s assets
Any benefits your family receives (such as Social Security or unemployment compensation)
Family size
The number of people in your family who will also be attending college

Like the current SAI, EFC did not necessarily indicate the exact amount that your family would pay for you to attend college. Instead, colleges would subtract EFC from your estimated cost of attendance (COA) to determine your eligibility for Pell Grants and other need-based financial aid.

Why the change from EFC to SAI? It was partly due to the name, as EFC seemed to imply a “limit” to how much a family would be required to spend on a child’s education. It’s worth noting that despite the new name—and although the new formula expands the number of families that will qualify for need-based aid—your total aid package might still fall short of the full amount needed to pay for college.

For more on the Student Aid Index and the FAFSA Simplification Act of 2021, refer to this Britannica Money overview.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Timothy Lake