How is my Financial Aid Eligibility
Determined?
Your eligibility is based on your
Expected Family Contribution (EFC). When
you complete the FAFSA (Free Application
for Federal Student Aid), the data you
enter is applied to the federal
standardized formula to calculate your
EFC. The EFC is an estimate of the
amount of money you (and your parents,
if you are dependent) could reasonably
contribute toward college costs.
The items used in determining EFC,
which are required in the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid, are
listed below.
Dependent Students:
- Student and parent income from
previous calendar year
- Family assets, including all
savings, stocks and bonds, real
estate investments, business or farm
ownership, and trusts (equity in a
family’s primary residence or family
farm is excluded)
- Number of children and other
dependents in household
- Number of family members in
college (excluding parents)
- Parents’ ages (for asset
protection)
- Untaxed income
Independent Students:
- Your income from previous
calendar year
- Household size and number in
college
- A percentage of assets, such as
savings and investments
- All other assistance such as
TANF, Social Security, etc.
- Any untaxed income
You can get information on how the
EFC is calculated at the
Department of Education Web site.
The processor sends the analysis to Cal
Maritime (and to any other schools you
list on the FAFSA), where a preliminary
award is determined. Awards may vary by
school because of differences in the
cost of attendance and funds available.
The following formula is used to
determine your financial aid package:
College Costs
(fees and other educational expenses)
— minus
Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
(FAFSA data)
= Your Financial Need
Most students are full-time students
at Cal Maritime, which means that they
are enrolled in 12 units or more per
semester. Students enrolled in from 9 to
11.5 units are enrolled three-quarter
time. Students enrolled in from 6 to 8.5
units are enrolled half time. Students
enrolled in from 3 to 5.5 units are
enrolled one-quarter time. For certain
kinds of financial aid, notably Pell
Grants, the differentiation of number of
units is of great importance.
On the other hand, the academic year
consists of 30 academic units in 30
weeks or more. This definition is
important in other kinds of financial
aid, notably loans. However, for majors
requiring a Coast Guard license, the
average number of academic units per
year in increased if the student plans
to graduate in four years. For ME, FET,
MT and MET students, the average number
of units per year is 46, 41.75, 41.5,
and 41 respectively.
For information regarding financial aid
awards, please contact Ken Walsh,
Director of Financial Aid, at
707-654-1276 or
kwalsh@csum.edu.
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