In the post-secondary education system of the United States, an expected family contribution (EFC) is an estimate of a student's, and for a dependent student, their parent(s)' or guardian(s)', ability to pay the costs of a year of post-secondary education.
[1] There are a number of free calculators on the Web to help applicants estimate the EFC before filing the FAFSA.
The EFC is subtracted from the cost of attendance (COA) of the college or university to determine a student's financial need.
A student with a college savings fund in his or her name will have a higher EFC (if not qualifying for an automatic zero), and will thus receive less need-based aid.
Items that lower a student's EFC:[citation needed] Colleges or universities have the legal authority to lower the EFC if there are unusual circumstances, usually brought to the financial aid office's attention as the result of an appeal of a financial aid award.
Put differently, if the parents are able but unwilling to help pay for the student's college, financial aid will not be increased because of it.
In exceptional cases, such as parental child abuse and parental communication with the child being prohibited by a court, the college financial aid office has the authority to change a student's status from Dependent to Independent.