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.