Can parents access student's FAFSA SAI scores from parent account? Email notification issues

Unfortunately, parents can't see the SAI through their FSA ID accounts. Only the student can access their own SAI by logging into studentaid.gov with their personal FSA ID. The system doesn't automatically email SAI scores - students need to log in to view them under 'My Aid' section. For the one needing signature corrections, that needs to be fixed before any SAI will be generated. Regarding aid amounts - yes, many families are seeing changes this year with the FAFSA Simplification Act. The new formula calculates differently, especially for families with multiple students or home equity. Some are getting slightly more, others less.

my kid got an email when her SAI was ready but it went to her spam folder so maybe tell ur kid to check there?? the email doesnt have the actual number tho just tells u to log in. idk why they make this so complicated every year!

Have your kids add you as trusted contacts on their FAFSA accounts! My daughter did this and I can help manage her application. Not sure if you can see SAI that way but worth a shot. The trusted contact thing is new with the 2024-25 FAFSA.

The financial aid office can usually tell you the SAI if your kid authorizes them to speak with you. Have them email financial aid with your contact info giving permission. That's what I did when my son kept ignoring my texts about checking his FAFSA status.

Regarding your second question about aid amounts - our returning junior got about 17% less this year despite our income staying roughly the same. The new FAFSA formula is hitting middle-income families with assets pretty hard. From what our financial aid counselor explained, the Simplification Act removed some protections for small business owners and families with home equity. We're appealing our package with additional documentation.

FYI if anyone is trying to reach Federal Student Aid by phone to deal with these issues, I spent HOURS on hold last week and kept getting disconnected. Finally used Claimyr.com which got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. The agent was able to confirm that my son's application was processed and explained why he hadn't received an email notification.

THEY DIDN'T EMAIL MY DAUGHTER EITHER!!!! This new system is a DISASTER!!!! We only found out her SAI by chance when she logged in for something else. And guess what? Her financial aid package is HALF what it was last year with NO CHANGE in our financial situation. I'm beyond furious with this new "simplified" system that's HURTING middle class families!!!!

wait has anyone else noticed that the financial aid offers seem delayed this year? my daughters SAI was processed 3 weeks ago but her school still hasnt sent an award letter. normally we have it by now

To summarize what we've learned from this thread: 1. Only students can access their own SAI through studentaid.gov (parents can't view it through parent accounts) 2. SAI numbers are not emailed - students must log in to see them 3. Possible workarounds: trusted contacts feature, getting permission for financial aid offices to share info with parents 4. Many returning students are seeing different aid amounts due to the new FAFSA formula 5. Schools are experiencing delays in processing aid packages this year Families experiencing unexpected decreases should definitely pursue appeals with supporting documentation.

Just wanted to add another tip that might help - if your kids are having trouble remembering to check their accounts, you can set up a shared family calendar reminder. I have my daughter text me a screenshot of her FAFSA dashboard every few weeks during application season so I know the status without having to bug her constantly. Also, for the signature issue mentioned - make sure they're using the exact same name format that's on their Social Security card. We had a similar problem last year because my son was using a nickname instead of his full legal name. The FSA ID signature has to match exactly or it gets flagged for verification.

As someone new to navigating FAFSA with my first college-bound kid, this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I had no idea that parents can't access SAI scores directly or that the new formula changes are affecting so many families. My daughter just submitted her FAFSA last week and now I know to tell her to check spam folders for notifications and to add me as a trusted contact. One question - for those who mentioned the appeal process when aid packages are lower than expected, is there a standard timeline for how long schools typically take to review appeals? We're still waiting on her initial package but want to be prepared if we need to appeal.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with similar issues with my junior in college. One thing I discovered that might help others - if your student has an active student portal account with their school, sometimes the SAI gets automatically imported there once it's processed, even before the financial aid package is ready. My son's school has a "Financial Aid Requirements" section in his student portal that showed his SAI about a week before he received his actual aid offer. It's worth having your kids check their school portals in addition to studentaid.gov. Also, regarding the email notifications - I've noticed they seem to come from "Federal Student Aid" with subject lines that don't always clearly indicate it's about FAFSA, so they're easy to miss or get filtered as spam. Might be worth having your kids search their entire inbox for "Federal Student Aid" or "FSA" to catch any missed notifications.

I'm going through this exact same situation with my son who's a sophomore! He's been so busy with finals that he keeps forgetting to check his FAFSA status. I ended up creating a simple checklist for him with all the steps: 1) Log into studentaid.gov with his FSA ID, 2) Check spam/junk folders for any FSA emails, 3) Look in his student portal for imported SAI info, and 4) Screenshot his dashboard to send to me. For other parents dealing with the signature issues - we had success last year by having my son completely log out, clear his browser cache, and then log back in using his full legal name exactly as it appears on his Social Security card. Sometimes the system gets glitchy and a fresh login session helps. The changes to aid amounts are really concerning though. We're a middle-class family and that small bit of federal aid makes a huge difference in our ability to afford tuition. Hoping the appeal processes work out for families who are seeing unexpected decreases!

As a parent who just went through this process with my daughter last month, I wanted to share a few additional tips that might help. First, if your kids are having trouble with the FSA ID login, make sure they're not using autofill or password managers - the system seems to be really picky about manual entry. Second, I found that calling the financial aid offices directly was actually more helpful than trying to reach Federal Student Aid. Most school financial aid counselors are incredibly knowledgeable about the new FAFSA changes and can walk you through what specifically changed in the calculation for your family's situation. Also, regarding the delayed award letters that someone mentioned - our daughter's school told us they're prioritizing incoming freshmen for early award notifications, so returning students might be waiting longer than usual this year. If your kids haven't heard back yet, it's worth having them email their financial aid office to confirm their FAFSA was received and ask for a timeline on when to expect their package. The uncertainty is stressful enough without wondering if something got lost in the system!