Students are not likely to receive the same amount of financial aid every year. This can be a good thing or a bad thing but too often is a bad thing. Students must apply for financial aid each year and any changes in their families’ circumstances can affect their EFC/SAU and the amount of money awarded. This can be a good thing when a family’s situation changes for the worse and the student receives additional aid to compensate for a lower EFC/SAI. The same would be true if the EFC/SAI remained the same but the cost of attendance increases as it has been known to do.
FAQ: Do students get the same amount of financial aid every year?
The FAFSA is the 
No. You don’t have to be accepted to a college to apply for financial aid. You can submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (
EFC stands for expected family contribution. This is the amount of money families are expected to pay for their students to attend college. Colleges and federal and state governments use the EFC to calculate a student’s financial aid award. The basic theory is that the lower your EFC, the bigger your financial aid award. A family with an adjusted income of $50,000 and two dependents would expect to have an EFC of around $3,800 without considering any other financial assets. A family with income of $100,000, would have an EFC of approximately $20,000.
The CSS PROFILE is basically a non-governmental financial aid application administered by the College Board, the same people who bring you the SAT and the AP Exams. Although used by some scholarship programs and graduate schools (the CSS stands for College Scholarship Service), it is more commonly used by over 200 colleges to determine eligibility for institutional aid. (You can see a list of all PROFILE colleges below.)
Unfortunately, even if your EFC is 0, the answer for most students is “no.” Although the federal government has determined that if your 
Federal
The federal work study program is one of the financial aid options available when you qualify for federal aid. Colleges administer the work study program with the federal government paying half the salary. The amount of money earned by the student in a work study job is considered part of the financial aid package and doesn’t reduce future financial aid awards.
Public colleges and universities charge non-residents higher tuition than in-state residents. Therefore, students who want to attend an out-of-state