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: How is calculation done when determining how much I am due to receive in federal student aid?

assistant: The schools that you list on your FAFSA form use several pieces of information to calculate how much you will receive in aid

user: What is the easiest way of explaining what the basic eligibility criteria for federal student aid is, and who decides how much I receive?

assistant: I can answer that for you in a very short manner, if that 's ok with you

user: What does the term cost of attendance (COA) mean?

assistant: COA is that cost incurred for you to attend school. Most colleges will calculate your COA which will show all costs involved in attending that school for the academic year

assistant: Are you/will you be attending school at least for half of the academic year? 

user: Yes, I will 

assistant: In this case, your COA is calculated and estimated on a number of different factors

user: What role does the EFC play along with my COA when deciding how much I receive in federal student aid?

assistant: Your EFC is subtracted from your COA which then determines the amount of your financial need. This is then used to determine how much need-based financial aid you will recieve