Your college will take your EFC and plug it into this formula to calculate how much financial aid to offer you:. Whether that aid is offered in the form of grants, scholarships or loans is up to your college. Your school may also choose to offer mucch additional aid beyond your need-based financial aid offer. Grants and scholarships are highly coveted by students since, unlike loans, they do not need to be paid. The good news is that as gor as two-thirds of all students receive at least some aid in the form of grants or scholarships from their college and federal aid. Scholarships are usually not determined by your EFC, but are based on things like merit, community service, mkae other factors. While students who file late will still have their financial needs met, those offers are likely to contain more loans and less grants and scholarships. There are two primary types of federal student loans, the William D. Generally, the interest rates are lower mmake federal loans, and the repayme...