How does the EFC from the FAFSA affect my tuition bill?

Everything I have read and been told about the EFC is that your EFC stands for how much cash you and/or your parents are expected to pay for your education that school year. However, FAFSA's website says something else completely:

"Your estimated EFC is based on the information you provided on this FAFSA. It may change depending on your school's verification of information you provided. The EFC is not the amount of money that you or your family must provide. Rather, you should think of the EFC as an index that schools use to determine your eligibility for federal student aid. For more information about the EFC, go to www.studentaid.ed.gov, select "Funding" then "Student Aid Eligibility" and scroll down to "How will I know what I'm eligible for?""

So of course I went to that studentaid.ed.gov page and all it said was generic stuff about being a US Citizen and having a SSN to qualify. Nothing about the magic formula schools apparently put the EFC in.

Does anyone know how this ACTUALLY works? I know that the EFC doesn't REALLY mean how much the student is reasonably expected to be able to pay because my brother's EFC from last year is 66...but they have paid much more than $66 on tuition. My EFC for this school year is 536 (since I'm 22 and have a job).

Your EFC does not effect your tuition at all. To best determine how much a school costs, look up the tuition rates on the website.

You are correct, your EFC is not (contrary to what everyone else says) what you will have to pay your school after you get aid. Think of your EFC as a "code" the school uses to determine what kinds and how much aid you will get. If your EFC code is below a certain amount, (roughly 4000) then you will be offered federal grants and work study and loans if you want and need them. If you EFC code is above this, you will not qualify for grants but will be offered loans only.

The cost of a school effects a great deal of how much the student (or students parents) have to pay for school. Even with an EFC of 0, a person going to a private college costing 40K a year could very well end up paying 30K for the school because the max Pell grant is only 4,700 a year and the max they can borrow in Stafford loans as a dependent is only 5,500 a year.

However, that same student with an EFC of 0 going to a community college would very well get all the books, tuition, fees, even housing costs completely paid for for free by federal and state grants. Some even get a refund check afterward because of an excess money and can use that for transportation costs, computer, rent, etc.

Hope that helps.