<prompt> Human: FAFSA says I dont meet requirements for any financial aid, as my Expected Family Contribution is 37,000. Where does this number come from? I was fortunate to be allowed to borrow an old 1990s car for school that Im grateful for, but thats far from 40,000.Edit: SpellingAssistant: Basically everyone in here is wrong. Your EFC number is not the amount youre expected to pay. You could end up paying less or more. It is an indicator that the school will use to assess your financial needs. The reason they dont say your efc is 37,000 i.e. they say 37000 is because it doesnt represent a dollar amount. Now, say you are expected to pay 37,000 after the school releases your financial aid reward. To answer your question, they would expect you to pay that because the school you chose is too expensive. Every student has a financial aid budget. The maximum financial aid budget is something like 18k. If you are dead broke and your school costs 30k, you either need to come up with 12k or the school needs to provide you with the money through a grant, scholarship, or loan. No one owes you the money. It is up to you to choose a school that you can afford. An education isnt a right, its a privilege. Fortunately, our financial aid system is very generous and wants to give you as much as possible but they will never give you extra federal or state grantsloans if it exceeds their budget. The school or you is responsible for the rest. Human: Interesting to hear about it not being a amount. Im still a little confused by your second paragraph. Heres where Im at: All of the schools Ive applied for are in-state public universities, not private schools with 3x the tuition amount theres one in my town with a 42k tuition before roomboard, and Im avoiding it like the plague. However this is what confuses me, FAFSA results said that even at schools with average tuition rates some below the 18k you mentioned I wont be receiving any aid, because of my EFC. Is this not the case?To be clear, I was not expecting that someone owes me money, I just was surprised at the assumed support from my family. So to me, it doesnt feel like the system is being too awfully generous. Also, what is a Financial Aid Reward? Edit: grammar  <response>: Apply to that private school. They may have a generous financial aid package, making the tuition equal to or less than a public uni. 