Expected Family Contribution

The total amount a family is asked to contribute toward a student's Yale education. It is used to cover both billed expenses and unbilled expenses. The EFC includes:

The Expected Family Contribution is not the amount that will appear on a Yale term bill. Rather, it is an estimate of the total Net Cost a family will pay to cover a student's estimated expenses for one year, including Unbilled Expenses.

Yale calculates the Expected Family Contribution through a holistic review process. As part of this process, we use a formula that considers the following:

  • parents' income
  • parents' assets (cash, savings, home equity, other real estate and investments)
  • family size
  • number of children attending college
  • student's expected income from summer and term-time jobs
  • student's assets (cash, savings, trusts, and other investments)

Yale also evaluates other circumstances, such as exceptional medical expenses, on a case-by-case basis.