Expected Family Contribution: Undergraduate Students
In the Resources section of the award letter, the Parental Contribution and Student Contribution are combined and listed as the Total Resources. The Total Resources is how we label the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) on the Tufts award letter.
The EFC is the amount your family is expected to pay for college for the academic year. It is calculated from the information provided on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), your College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile, and your family’s federal tax returns.
In many cases, the Expected Family Contribution shown on the Tufts Financial Aid Award will be higher than the federal EFC shown on the Student Aid Report from the federal government. Tufts will use the higher of the federal and the institutional figures.
Every package will include a student contribution—an amount we expect you to pay from summer earnings, ranging from $1,700–3,000. This expectation remains even if you do not work over the summer.
Please note that your financial aid award letter is not a bill, and the family contribution on your financial aid award may differ from the combined fall and spring semester bill balances. This is because the cost of attendance that your financial aid is based upon includes out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., books) that are not charged to your bill. Also, any work study in your aid package is earned and not credited to your bill.
Except for work study, all your financial aid will be credited to your bill at the beginning of each semester. The balance due each semester is the difference between the charges billed by Tufts and the aid credited to your student account.
The amount you will actual pay on your semester bills can be estimated using the Student Account Calculator.