The EFC is subtracted from the aid budget to establish a student's documented need. Since the EFC is the same regardless of which school a student chooses to attend a student's need varies based on the cost of the school.
For instance, a student with an EFC of 9800 is considering three schools. This is how the student's need would be documented at the three schools:
| Community College | State University | Private University | |
| Budget |
9,800 |
18,800 |
40,800 |
| -EFC |
9,800 |
9,800 |
9,800 |
| Need |
0 |
9,000 |
31,000 |
The amount of documented need is then used to determine eligibility for need based grants, loans and work-study.
Scholarships and other aid reduce a student's need, even if the scholarship or other aid is non-need based. Pell Grants and TAP Grants are considered entitlements in that they are not reduced by other aid that a student receives.
