Financial Need

Financial Need is defined as the difference between the cost of attendance (COA) of your school and your expected family contribution (EFC)

• The following equation demonstrates how the Financial Need is calculated:

Cost of Attendance (COA) – Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Financial Need

• Based on that, the financial aid office will prepare a financial aid package for you

• Higher need makes you eligible for more financial aid

Ken’s Tip – Your financial need will vary from school to school based on the total costs. High cost private schools will calculate a higher need for their students when compared to lower cost state schools.
When awarding an institutional need based grant the financial aid office will use your financial need to determine the award amount. Part of that calculation is to compare your need with the financial need of other students. Students with higher need will qualify for more institutional grant funding.
Filing the FAFSA early is critical as it allows the financial aid office to award you need based funding while their budget is still fresh with cash. Consequently, filing your FAFSA late means there is less institutional need based grant funding left to award you because most of it has already been given away. You may have high need, but if the FAFSA is filed late it could cost you by way of lost grant funding.