


Ask the community...
pro tip: do it between 11pm-6am when the site isnt crashing every 5 min lol
I'll try that tonight! Hoping the system is less overloaded during off-hours.
I'm glad you're making progress! One additional thing to be aware of: if you're entering tax information manually rather than using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, make sure you're entering exactly what appears on your tax documents. Even small formatting differences (like including commas in numbers or leaving them out) can cause the system to reject your information. Also, for W-2 information, be sure you're entering the numbers from the correct boxes - the form isn't always intuitive about which information it's requesting.
That must be what's happening! I've been putting commas in the numbers. I'll remove those and try again. And I'll double-check the W-2 box numbers. Thank you so much for all your help!
Thanks for reporting back! This is exactly why it's important to actually speak with an agent - those system flags can be for the most random reasons. Glad you got it sorted out!
THANK YOU for sharing your solution! I'm going to try the same approach tomorrow. So tired of this broken system.
also just fyi if u get selected for verification STAY ON TOP OF IT!!! my roommate got selected and didn't complete everything in time and lost out on like $4000 for that semester!! they are SUPER strict about deadlines with that stuff
Yep this is so true! And some schools have earlier internal deadlines than what FAFSA says. My brothers verification took so long that he almost didn't get his money in time for spring semester. The whole verification thing is basically them saying "prove you're really this poor" which is annoying but you gotta do it
One more thing to consider: since you'll have a full Pell Grant, you might also be eligible for additional institutional aid from your school. Many colleges offer supplemental grants or scholarships to Pell-eligible students. When you speak with the financial aid office, specifically ask if there are any additional funding opportunities you qualify for with your negative SAI. Also, make sure to file the 2026-2027 FAFSA as soon as it becomes available (usually October 1, 2025) if you plan to continue your education beyond Spring 2026. Early filing often means access to more institutional funds.
I had no idea there might be additional aid available! I'll definitely ask about that when I call tomorrow. And thank you for the reminder about filing early for next year - I'm planning to get my associate's degree so I'll need to keep applying. I feel so much less stressed now having a clear plan of what to do next.
Wait so they're actually processing NEWER applications FASTER than the early ones??? What about those of us who tried to be responsible and file early? My student's financial aid package is going to be delayed because we followed the "file as early as possible" advice that THEY'VE been pushing for years! This is absolutely ridiculous!
I understand your frustration. The early applications encountered numerous technical issues related to the new calculation methodology and system implementation. The Department of Education has stated they're working through the backlog, but yes, many March applications are processing more smoothly because many initial bugs were already fixed by then. If your January application is still stuck, I'd recommend contacting Federal Student Aid directly to have them check for any hidden issues that might be holding it up.
My nephew filed in late February and got his SAI within two weeks, but my daughter's January application is still stuck in processing limbo. The whole system seems completely random this year.
It really does seem random! I'm just glad we waited until March. I almost pushed my daughter to file in January when the form first opened, but we got busy and procrastinated. Turns out procrastination worked in our favor for once! 😂
Logan Stewart
SAI isn't even that important tbh, it's just a number they use to calculate your actual awards. The schools financial aid office is who determines your ACTUAL aid package which is what really matters. My son's SAI was $13,500 but his actual EFC ended up being like $9,000 at the school he chose.
0 coins
Mikayla Brown
•This is incorrect information. SAI (Student Aid Index) replaced EFC (Expected Family Contribution) starting with the 2024-2025 FAFSA. They're not different numbers - SAI is the new term for what used to be called EFC. And many private scholarships require the SAI number directly from the SAR for their applications, which is what the original poster needs.
0 coins
Logan Stewart
•oh my bad i thought they were different things. we did both fafsa and css profile so maybe thats why we had different numbers
0 coins
Haley Bennett
Once you find your SAI on the SAR, make sure to screenshot or save it somewhere easily accessible. You'll need it multiple times throughout the financial aid process, and it's annoying to keep logging back in to find it again every time a scholarship application asks for it.
0 coins
Rami Samuels
•Good tip! I'll have my daughter take screenshots of everything important once we find it. Appreciate everyone's help with navigating this confusing process!
0 coins