Compare your total cost of attendance against your expected family contribution, scholarships, grants, and loans to see your funding gap.
Colleges determine financial need by subtracting your Expected Family Contribution (or the newer Student Aid Index) from the total Cost of Attendance. This calculator then compares that need — plus any remaining cost — against the scholarships, grants, loans, and savings you plan to use, so you can see exactly how much of a gap remains to be funded.
Financial Need = Cost of Attendance − EFC/SAI
Total Resources = Scholarships + Grants + Loans + Work-Study/Savings
Funding Gap = Cost of Attendance − (EFC + Total Resources)
Enter your school's total yearly cost of attendance, your EFC/SAI from your FAFSA report, then list the scholarships and grants you've been awarded, any loans you're planning to take, and your work-study or savings contribution. The result shows whether you have a gap to cover or a surplus.
A student with a $28,000 cost of attendance, a $6,000 EFC, $8,000 in scholarships and grants, $5,500 in loans, and $2,000 from work-study covers $21,500 of the $28,000 cost, leaving a funding gap of about $500 to find through additional scholarships, savings, or a payment plan.
Total cost of attendance minus expected financial aid (scholarships, grants).
It reveals true out-of-pocket cost, which can differ significantly from a school's sticker price.
Loans typically aren't counted as "aid" since they must be repaid, though often used to cover the gap.