Finding Your Family Contribution

When you submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the U.S. Department of Education performs a need analysis with your data. If you are a dependent student, your income and assets—and those of your parents' as well—are reviewed to calculate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is how much the family should pay toward the cost of attendance. Note that for independent students, the parents' information is not requested.

The EFC is subtracted from the annual Cost of Attendance and the difference (if there is any) determines the amount of financial aid for which you may be eligible. The college will send you an award letter to inform you about the specific aid it has assembled for your financial aid package.

The parents' contribution is estimated from the total income before taxes, for a family in which the older parent is approximately 44 years old. An average $500 or $1,000 student contribution was used for this chart. However, the Federal Government applies a special formula to each dependent student's income and assets. Some students may have little or no required contribution. Standardized student expenses are figured for a dependent student with two parents.

Let Fifth Third answer your questions regarding student loans. Call a Customer Service Professional at 1-800-222-7192 .