does my efc for fafsa sound correct? 08108 agi with agi 22,500?

There are a lot of factors that go in to determining your EFC. You should not compare your EFC to your friend’s because each one will be different.

You said you were 24…did you answer “Yes” to any of the following questions when completing your FAFSA:

were you born before 1/1/84

are you a graduate or professional student

are you married

do you have children

do you have legal dependents other than children

are you an orphan or ward of the court

are you Active Duty in the U.S. Armed Forces

are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces

If you answered Yes to any of the questions, then just your income information is calculated. Do you have any savings or trust accounts? How many people live in your household (that are legally dependent upon you)? All of these things factor into what your EFC will be. If it’s just you, then your EFC is going to be much higher.

If you could not answer “Yes” to any of those eight questions at the top, then you would have to provide your parents income information as well. In addition to income and savings, how many people are in the household and of those how many are going to college are taken into consideration (say you answered no to the above questions and you also have a sister who goes to college. The household would be 4 with 2 in college (your parents, you, and your sister). Or say you have a sister who doesn’t go to college; the household would be 4 with 1 in college. The 4/2 combination would have a lower EFC than a 4/1 combination).

So there are many different reasons as to why your friend’s EFC would be so much lower than yours.

Are you going through any hardships right now? If so, then you may want to see if you can appeal to your financial aid office to see if your EFC can be lowered.

Good luck!

EFC is actually not a dollar amount, but the lower the better, if you want grants. Your EFC is quite high. In our state it has to be like less than 3000 to get federal/state grants. My son’s was at 2800 and we still are getting Stafford loans for about 1/2 of his tuition.

Does your friend have a child? Being a single parent with children will lower your EFC. Don’t compare yourself to your friend because everyone is different. If you a single with no children, then you have to make practically nothing to qualify for Pell grants. You should still be eligible for loans even if you didn’t qualify for Pell grant. I would check with your financial aid office.