Wondering how the amount of your federal student aid is determined? 
The colleges or career schools you list on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid FAFSA form will use several pieces of information to calculate your aid. So, you ve filed your FAFSAform, and you ve checked your Student Aid Report to be sure all your information is correct , and now you re wondering how that data is used to come up with the list of financial aid for which you re eligible. 

If I meet the basic eligibility criteria for federal student aid, who decides how much money I ll get? 
Here s the short answer : Your eligibility depends on your Expected Family Contribution, your year in school, your enrollment status, and the cost of attendance at the school you will be attending. The financial aid office at your college or career school will determine how much financial aid you are eligible to receive. The financial aid staff starts by deciding upon your cost of attendance COA at that school. They then consider your Expected Family Contribution EFC. They subtract your EFC from your COA to determine the amount of your financial need and therefore how much need - based aid you can get. To determine how much non - need - based aid you can get , the school takes your cost of attendance and subtracts any financial aid you ve already been awarded. If you d like the long answer , keep reading! 

What does cost of attendance (COA) mean? 
Your COA is the amount it will cost you to go to school. Most two - year and four - year colleges will calculate your COA to show your total cost for the school year for instance, for the fall semester plus the spring semester. Schools with programs that last a different period of time for instance, an 18-month certificate program might give you a COA that covers a time period other than a year. If you're attending at least half - time , your COA is the estimate of tuition and fees; the cost of room and board or living expenses for students who do not contr

user: I'd like information about how my student aid is figured out?

assistant: Well, the colleges or career schools you list on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid FAFSA form will use several pieces of information to calculate your aid.

user: I'm unclear on what non-need-based aid is, could you explain it?

assistant: Non - need - based aid is financial aid that is not based on your EFC. Your school determines how much non-need-based aid you can get by using the following formula:
Cost of Attendance COA Financial Aid Awarded So Far * = Eligibility for Non-need-based Aid.

assistant: Would you like an example?

user: No I think I get it.

user: Are there any need-based Federal Aid programs?

assistant: Yes there are:
Federal Perkins Loan
Federal Pell Grant
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant FSEOG
Direct Subsidized Loan
Federal Work-Study

user: I'll be a full time student, how is my cost of attending school calculated?

assistant: Your cost of attending or COA is the estimate of your tuition and fees; the cost of room and board or living expenses for students who do not contract with the school for room and board; the cost of books, supplies , transportation, loan fees, and miscellaneous expenses including a reasonable amount for the documented cost of a personal computer.