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Is the Federal Template Calculator Reasonably Accurate?

Did You Know?

The federal template calculator determines the EFC for a dependent student strictly based on student income, parent income and the number of family members in college.

If a student is among the 3 out of 10 who receive an accurate EFC from the federal template calculator, two additional conditions must be met simultaneously in order for that student to receive a reasonably accurate net price estimate:

  • The institution must award need-based aid strictly according to FM need analysis
  • The institution must not discount tuition and must offer little or no merit aid

However, varying one of these conditions will increase relative inaccuracy for grant and net price results. Low-income students will receive more accurate estimates because their FM EFC and federal template calculator EFC will be close. These students typically don’t own significant assets and don’t have untaxed income or exclusions that affect FM EFC calculations. Exclusions that affect FM EFC are not considered by the federal template calculator.

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