Daughter mysteriously stopped receiving Pell Grant - school says it's a FAFSA issue?

Pell Grants are 100% determined by your SAI (Student Aid Index), not the school. The school doesn't decide who gets Pell - they just process what FAFSA determines. For 2024-2025, you need an SAI of 6656 or lower to qualify for any Pell Grant money. Even a small increase in income can push you over the threshold, especially if your daughter is right on the borderline. Check her SAI number on her Student Aid Report - it should clearly tell you if she qualifies. Also worth noting that Pell eligibility can change based on enrollment status (full-time vs part-time) and whether she's already used her lifetime Pell eligibility limit (which is 12 semesters).

Hi there! Financial aid counselor here. The previous response is mostly correct - Pell Grants are indeed determined by your SAI (which replaced the old EFC system). The confusion might be because schools are responsible for DISBURSING the Pell Grant, but they don't determine eligibility. For 2025-2026, the max SAI to receive any Pell is expected to be around $7,000. If your daughter's SAI went from just under that threshold to just over it, she'd lose the entire grant - there's no gradual reduction, it's a strict cutoff. If your income only went up 3%, something else might have changed in your FAFSA. Did you have fewer dependents in college this year? Did you have additional assets reported? Even small changes can have surprising impacts on the SAI calculation.

The exact samee thing happened to me last year!!! My sister graduated and suddenly I lost my Pell grant even tho nothing else changed with my parents income. It's so unfair how they just assume your family can suddenly afford more just bc you have one less kid in school. Like my parents bills didn't magically disappear?? 🙄

The system is designed to screw over middle class families. My daughter lost her Pell Grant junior year too, for literally NO REASON - our income actually went DOWN that year but they still cut her funding. The financial aid office was useless and FAFSA helpline just kept disconnecting me after 2+ hours on hold each time. I eventually discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me through to an actual FAFSA agent in about 10 minutes instead of hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent explained that our SAI had changed because we had one less dependent in college, even though our income was lower. It's completely ridiculous, but at least I finally got a straight answer instead of being bounced between the school and FAFSA.

This whole thread is super halpful, I just realized why my pell grant disappeared this year too! My brother graduated last year and we went from 2 to 1 in college. Wish they'd make this more clear on the FAFSA form instead of making us figure it out on forums lol

I went through this exact situation with my son! Here's what I learned after tons of research and many calls: 1. Pell Grant eligibility is STRICTLY based on your SAI number from FAFSA - this is set by federal formula, not your school 2. The "number of family members in college" factor is MASSIVE in the SAI calculation - going from 2 to 1 student can easily double your SAI even if income stays exactly the same 3. For 2025-2026, the SAI cutoff for any Pell Grant is projected to be around $7,000 (the exact number changes annually with Congressional appropriations) 4. Your SAI is displayed prominently at the top of your Student Aid Report (SAR) which you can access by logging into studentaid.gov 5. Federal law only allows financial aid appeals for specific circumstances like job loss, death in family, medical expenses, etc. - having one less student in college isn't grounds for appeal because it's already factored into the formula The most frustrating part is how the financial aid office and FAFSA kept pointing fingers at each other instead of explaining this clearly. The school doesn't decide Pell eligibility, but they are responsible for verifying your FAFSA info and disbursing the funds.

my friend got her pell grant back after appealing to the financial aid office, but she had to show some kind of "special circumstance" like her dad lost his job or something. maybe worth a try?

One more thing to consider - if your income is expected to be lower this year (2025) than it was in 2023 (which is what the 2025-2026 FAFSA uses), you CAN appeal on those grounds. Job loss, reduction in hours, loss of child support, etc. are all valid reasons for a Professional Judgment review. Also, check if your daughter qualifies for any state grants. Many states have their own need-based grants with slightly different formulas than the federal Pell Grant. Sometimes students who just miss Pell eligibility can still qualify for state aid.

I'm going through something similar with my daughter right now! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful. I had no idea that having fewer kids in college could affect eligibility so dramatically. One thing I wanted to add - if you're still within the priority filing deadline for your state, it might be worth checking if there are any state-specific grants or aid programs available. Some states have more generous income thresholds than the federal Pell Grant program. Also, don't forget to have your daughter apply for as many scholarships as possible to help fill the gap. Even small $500-1000 scholarships can add up. Many schools also have emergency aid funds for students who lose financial aid unexpectedly - it's worth asking the financial aid office about those options too. Good luck with everything! This whole system is so confusing and stressful.

This whole thread has been such an eye-opener! I'm a college sophomore and had no idea that the number of family members in college could affect financial aid so dramatically. My older brother is graduating this spring, so I'm now worried about what might happen to my aid package for next year. Does anyone know if there's a way to predict how much your SAI might change when you go from 2 students to 1? I'm trying to prepare financially and maybe start looking for scholarships now instead of being caught off guard like some of you were. Also, for those who mentioned state grants - how do you even find out what's available in your state? Is there a central database or do you have to contact each state agency individually? Thanks for all the detailed explanations everyone - this is exactly the kind of real-world info they should be teaching in high school financial literacy classes!

This is such a valuable discussion! I'm a financial aid administrator and see this exact scenario play out dozens of times each year. What's particularly frustrating is how poorly communicated this is - families are often completely blindsided when their aid drops dramatically just because they have fewer kids in college. A few additional points that might help: 1. The SAI formula divides your "family contribution" by the number of students in college. So if your family contribution was calculated at $14,000 with 2 kids in college, each child's SAI would be $7,000. When one graduates, the remaining child's SAI jumps to the full $14,000 - potentially pushing them over the Pell threshold. 2. If you're right at the borderline, even tiny changes matter. Things like a small 401k withdrawal, selling stock, or even bank account interest can tip you over the edge. 3. Many schools have their own institutional grants that can help bridge the gap when students lose Pell eligibility. These aren't automatic - you usually have to ask about them specifically. The system definitely needs better transparency. No family should have to piece together this information from Reddit threads!

Wow, this thread has been incredibly enlightening! I'm a junior in college and had no clue about how the "number in college" factor worked until reading all these responses. My younger brother is actually starting college next fall while I'll be a senior, so it sounds like this might actually help my financial aid situation? I'm curious - does anyone know if this works in reverse too? Like if having fewer students hurts your aid, does adding a student help it? And does it matter if the new student is at a different school or does it have to be the same institution? Also wanted to say thank you to everyone sharing their experiences here. It's frustrating that we have to crowdsource this information instead of getting clear explanations from the official sources, but at least we're helping each other figure it out!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm a parent going through this exact situation with my son. He's a sophomore and just lost his Pell Grant this year when his older sister graduated. Our income barely changed but his SAI jumped from around $6,200 to $12,400 - way over the threshold. What's been most helpful from reading everyone's experiences is understanding that this is actually how the system is designed to work, not some mistake or oversight. The financial aid office at his school kept saying "contact FAFSA" and FAFSA kept saying "the school determines disbursement" - nobody wanted to just explain the simple fact that fewer kids in college = higher SAI = potential loss of Pell eligibility. We're now looking into state grants and institutional aid as suggested here. For other parents facing this, I'd recommend using the Federal Student Aid Estimator tool mentioned earlier to run scenarios before your older child graduates so you're not caught off guard like we were. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories - it's been more helpful than hours of phone calls with official channels!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! As someone who's about to start my freshman year and has an older sibling who'll be graduating when I'm a sophomore, I'm now realizing I need to prepare for a potential aid change. One question I haven't seen addressed yet - when exactly does the SAI calculation change? Does it happen immediately for the next academic year after your sibling graduates, or is there any delay in how it affects your aid? I want to make sure I understand the timeline so I can start applying for scholarships and looking into other funding sources well in advance. Also, for those who mentioned institutional grants from schools - are these typically need-based or merit-based? I'm wondering if maintaining good grades might help qualify for alternative funding when Pell eligibility potentially disappears. Thank you all for sharing such detailed experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world information that should be part of college planning resources!