Can't find FAFSA summary for scholarship applications - where is it hiding?
I'm applying for like 8 different scholarships and 5 of them need a copy of my FAFSA summary attached. I've looked everywhere on studentaid.gov but can't find it! Someone told me it should be under "My Activity" but when I go there, all I see are some confirmation notices about my application being processed. No summary or anything I can download. This is driving me CRAZY because these scholarship deadlines are in two weeks and I can't submit without the FAFSA summary. Has anyone had this problem? Where exactly do I find this document they're asking for??
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Roger Romero
did u try clicking the three dots (...) menu on your dashboard? sometimes it hides stuff there
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Danielle Mays
•Yes! I checked everywhere including that menu. Just shows account settings, help, and logout options. No documents or summary anywhere 😫
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Anna Kerber
What you're looking for is actually the "Student Aid Report" (SAR), not a "FAFSA summary" - that's why you can't find it. To access it, log into studentaid.gov, go to your dashboard and look for "View your Student Aid Report (SAR)". It should be listed under the same section where you can see your SAI score. The SAR is a comprehensive summary of all the information from your FAFSA application.
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Danielle Mays
•OMG thank you!!! I've been searching for the wrong thing this whole time. I'll check for the SAR now - hopefully that's what the scholarship committees want!
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Niko Ramsey
I went thru the same thing last year!!! The scholarships all say "FAFSA summary" but they actually mean the SAR which is super confusing. Also make sure you download the PDF version not just the web view since most scholarships want the full document with all the details.
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Danielle Mays
•Thank you for confirming! Do you know how many pages the SAR should be? I want to make sure I'm sending them the complete document.
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Niko Ramsey
•Mine was like 4-5 pages I think? It has all your family income info and the schools you're applying to. Just make sure it shows your SAI score (used to be called EFC) because that's usually what they're looking for anyway.
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Seraphina Delan
I had a similar issue and spent hours trying to call Federal Student Aid for help but couldn't get through to anyone. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual FAFSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. They helped me locate the SAR and explained exactly what I needed to download for my scholarship applications. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ
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Roger Romero
•is that legit? sounds kinda sketch tbh
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Jabari-Jo
The entire financial aid system is DESIGNED to be confusing on purpose! They deliberately use different terms for the same documents depending on who you're talking to. FAFSA summary, Student Aid Report, SAR - it's all the same thing but they make it impossible to find just so more people give up and don't get aid. And don't get me started on how they hide the appeal process if you think your SAI is calculated wrong!!!
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Anna Kerber
•While the system can definitely be frustrating, I don't think it's deliberately designed to be confusing. The terminology is standardized, but many scholarship providers don't use the official terms correctly. The SAR is the official document, but non-government organizations often call it a "FAFSA summary" which causes this exact confusion.
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Danielle Mays
UPDATE: I found it!!! For anyone else having this problem, go to your FAFSA dashboard, look for "You can view your Student Aid Report" link (it's not super obvious). Click that, then there's a button to download the PDF version. That's what scholarship committees want when they ask for a "FAFSA summary" - they just use the wrong terminology. THANK YOU everyone for your help!!
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Kristin Frank
•Glad you found it! One more important tip: Before submitting to scholarship committees, you might want to blackout or remove any sensitive information like your social security number that appears on the SAR. Most scholarship committees only need to see your SAI score and general family contribution information, not your personal identifiers.
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Micah Trail
my cousin works in a financial aid office and she says they get calls about this ALL THE TIME... apparently even some guidance counselors don't know the difference between the SAR and FAFSA which is crazy considering it's literally their job to help students with this stuff lol
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Kristin Frank
For the 2025-2026 academic year, there's also a slightly different process since the FAFSA Simplification Act changes rolled out. The Student Aid Report (SAR) now prominently displays your Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the old Expected Family Contribution (EFC). When scholarships ask for your "FAFSA summary," they specifically want this document because it shows your financial need via the SAI number. Make sure you're downloading the complete PDF version through your studentaid.gov account, not just viewing the abbreviated online version.
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