FAFSA4Caster & Cost of College

Paying for college can be a scary thing! While it’s still too early to apply for financial aid, the FAFSA4caster is a great
tool that gives you a free estimate of your eligibility for federal student aid. This information will help you and your
family plan for college.

1. Explain to your parents this assignment and that the FAFSA4caster will give you an estimate
of what you could receive in financial aid. It does not record any information and does not
require you to submit your name.

2. The FAFSA4caster will also ask about your and your parent’s information.

3. Go to https://fafsa.ed.gov/spa/fafsa4c/?locale=en_US#/landing

4. Answer all of the questions. Click Submit.

5. Once you’ve clicked submit, record all of the information regarding your eligibility for
financial aid below:

Federal Pell Grant:

0
(Fill out #9 on the back of this page using this information)

Federal Work-Study:
1815
(Fill out #13 on the back of this page using this information)

Direct Stafford Loan:

7315
(Fill out #16 on the back of this page using this information)

7. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Submit. Record your estimated EFC below.

Estimated EFC:
26,525
(Fill out #7 on the back of this page using this information)

8. On the next page, complete Rows 1-8.

You aren’t given enough information to complete rows 9-18 but it’s a good way to see how you can
figure out how much college will cost you.
 FAFSA4Caster & Cost of College
College #1 College #2 College #3 College #4 College #5

School Name Palomar San Marcos UC Irvine UCSD UC Fullerton

Estimated Cost of Attendance (COA)

$12,834 $11,442.00 14,648

6,953
1. Tuition and fees 0

2. Room and board 0 $13,150 $17,412.00 $15,336 $15,898

3. Transportation 0 $1,326 $2,056.00 $1,473 $1,544

$2,038 $1,849.00 $1,608

1,480
4. Miscellaneous/Personal 0

5. Additional Costs 0 $742 $27.00 0 396

6. Total COA 0 30,090 32,786 33,065 26,271
Estimated Financial Need

7. Expected Family Contribution 26,525 26,525, 26,525 26,525 26,525

(EFC)

8. Total Financial Need (#6 minus #7) 0 3,565 6,261 6,540 0

Estimated Financial Aid

9. Federal Pell Grant 0 0 0 0 0

10. State Grant (Cal Grant) 0 0 0 0 0

11. Scholarships/Other Grants 1815 1815 1815 1815 1815

12. Total of Free Fin Aid (Add up #9-11) 1815 1815 1815 1815 1815

Employment

13. Federal Work Study 1815 1815 1815 1815 1815

14. Other Employment 0 0 0 0 0

15. Total Employment (Add up #14-15) 1815 1815 1815 1815 1815

Loans

16. Direct Stafford Loan 7315 7315 7315 7315 7315

17. Other Loan 0 0 0 0 0

18. Total Loan (Add up #17-18) 7315 7315 7315 7315 7315

Estimated Out-of-Pocket Cost

Total COA (#6) 0 30,090 32,786 33.065 26,271

Total Free Financial Aid 9,130 9,130 9,130 9,130 9,130

Total of Loans 0 20,960 23,656 22,935 17,141

 FAFSA4Caster & Cost of College
Total out-of-pocket cost 0 20,960 23,656 22,935 17,141