Does your SAI number directly match financial aid cutoff? Trying to understand my award letter

SAI (Student Aid Index) doesn't work as a straight cutoff in most cases. The system is way more complex than that! Each school has their own formula for distributing aid, and they consider different factors: - Some schools meet 100% of demonstrated need, others meet like 60-70% - Some prioritize merit scholarships over need-based aid - Public vs private schools approach this differently - Some schools include loans in their "meeting need" calculation, others only count grants My daughter's SAI was around $8,500, and she got wildly different packages from different schools - from covering nearly everything to barely anything. It's definitely not a simple "cover everything above your SAI" situation at most places.

bruh my SAI was 4,200 and i still got nothing from two schools lmao college financial aid is a scam

Financial aid counselor here. The SAI (which replaced EFC) is indeed a factor in determining your aid, but it's not as simple as "cover everything above this number." Here's what actually happens: 1. SAI helps determine your *eligibility* for federal grants like Pell 2. Schools use SAI to calculate your demonstrated need (COA minus SAI) 3. But each institution has its own financial aid budget and priorities 4. Some schools are "need-blind" and "meet full need" - these typically cover costs above your SAI through a mix of grants, work-study, and loans 5. Most schools are "gapping" - meaning they acknowledge your need but don't fully meet it State schools typically have less funding for need-based aid than private institutions with large endowments. That's why you'll see such variation in offers despite having the same SAI.

youll get SOME aid but never enuf lol. i had $6k SAI and still paying 14k out of pocket for state school. they dont care if u cant afford it

I've spent way too much time researching this after my own confusion with the FAFSA this year. Your observation isn't a coincidence - many schools DO use the SAI as a starting point, but then apply their own institutional methodology. Private schools often use the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA and have more complex formulas. Public universities tend to be more straightforward with their calculations but have limited aid budgets. One important thing: the lower your SAI, the more federal programs you qualify for. Under $3,500 typically qualifies for maximum Pell Grant. The $7,000-$9,000 range (where you are) is a tricky spot - you've demonstrated some need but aren't eligible for many federal programs. Have you tried calling the financial aid offices directly? Sometimes they can explain exactly how they calculated your package.

I had the worst time trying to get through to my school's financial aid office too. After days of trying, I discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com) which helped me actually speak to a human. They have this service that gets you through phone queues for government agencies and school financial aid offices. Their video demo (https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ) shows how it works. Saved me hours of frustration when I was trying to understand why my SAI number didn't match up with my aid package.

To directly answer your SAI question: While there's no perfect correlation, schools with strong financial aid policies often use a calculation that looks like: Total Cost of Attendance (COA) - SAI = Demonstrated Financial Need Then they try to meet that need through a combination of: - Federal grants (Pell, SEOG) - State grants - Institutional grants/scholarships - Federal work-study - Federal loans But very few schools meet 100% of demonstrated need. Most have a "gap" - meaning they acknowledge you need more aid than they're offering. This is why you're seeing discrepancies. The most generous schools (typically high-endowment private colleges) come closest to the "cover everything above your SAI" model, but even they will expect different family contributions based on their own methodologies.

Thanks for all the responses. I'm still frustrated that this isn't more transparent, but at least I understand better now. I'm going to try to contact each financial aid office and see if I can get clear explanations of how they calculated my package. And I'll definitely try that Claimyr service someone mentioned since I'm sick of being on hold for hours. I'll update here if I learn anything useful about how my SAI was actually used in the calculations!

I'm in a similar boat with my SAI and trying to decode these award letters! One thing I've learned is that some schools also consider your state residency status differently. As an out-of-state student, I noticed my SAI seemed less relevant at public universities compared to private ones. The private schools I applied to came much closer to that "COA minus SAI" calculation, while the public ones barely budged regardless of my demonstrated need. Also found out that some schools have priority deadlines for aid that aren't the same as admission deadlines - missed out on some institutional grants because I submitted my FAFSA after their internal cutoff even though it was before the federal deadline. The whole system definitely needs more transparency!

One thing that really helped me understand this better was realizing that SAI is basically your "expected family contribution" but schools interpret it differently based on their own policies and budgets. I had an SAI of $8,400 and got packages ranging from $12,000 to $22,000 at different schools with similar costs of attendance. What I discovered is that schools with better endowments tend to stick closer to that "meet your demonstrated need" formula, while less wealthy schools might acknowledge your need but can only offer a fraction of it. Also, some schools "package" loans as part of meeting your need, while others focus more on grants. Pro tip: When you're comparing offers, look at the net price (COA minus grants/scholarships) rather than just the total aid amount. Sometimes a school offering "more aid" is actually more expensive because they're padding the numbers with loans and work-study. The CSS Profile schools especially seem to have their own way of calculating what families can actually afford beyond just the SAI.

I'm new to this whole process and feeling pretty overwhelmed by all the different aid packages I've received! My SAI is $6,800 and I'm seeing such huge variations between schools - some are offering packages that would leave me with around $7K to pay (which seems to match my SAI), while others are expecting my family to cover $15K+ even though we all submitted the same FAFSA. Reading through these responses has been super eye-opening. I had no idea about the difference between schools that "meet full need" vs those that don't, or that there are different priority deadlines for institutional aid. I'm definitely going to look more closely at the net price rather than just the total aid amounts - that's a game changer for comparing offers. Has anyone had success with appealing aid packages when there's a big discrepancy between what your SAI suggests you can afford and what schools are actually expecting? I'm wondering if it's worth reaching out to my top choice school that's asking for way more than my SAI number would indicate.

I'm also navigating this maze as a first-time college applicant! My SAI is $8,950 and I've been so confused by the wildly different packages I've received. Some schools came pretty close to covering costs above my SAI amount, while others seem to have completely ignored it. What's been most helpful from reading everyone's experiences is understanding that SAI is more of a starting point than a hard rule. I'm definitely going to take the advice about focusing on net price instead of total aid amounts - I think I've been getting distracted by big scholarship numbers that include loans I'll have to pay back anyway. One question for those who've successfully appealed: how long did the process take? I'm trying to figure out if I have time to appeal before decision deadlines, or if I should just work with the packages I have. The uncertainty is killing me, but these responses have at least helped me understand that my confusion is totally normal!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm a parent trying to understand this process for my daughter, and honestly, the lack of transparency in how schools use the SAI is maddening. Our family SAI is $11,200, and we're seeing everything from schools that basically expect us to pay exactly that amount to others wanting $20K+ on top of it. What I've found most frustrating is that the FAFSA makes it seem like there's some standardized process, but clearly every school just does whatever they want with your information. We're definitely going to focus on net price comparisons now rather than getting excited about big aid packages that are mostly loans. For parents who went through this before - is it worth having your student call the financial aid offices directly, or should parents be the ones making those calls? We want to advocate for our daughter but also don't want to undermine her independence in this process.

I'm a current college student who went through this exact confusion last year! My SAI was $8,600 and I got packages ranging from $14K to $26K at schools with similar costs. What really helped me understand the process was creating a spreadsheet comparing the actual net price (COA minus grants only - not loans or work study) across all my schools. I discovered that some schools were much more generous than others, but it didn't always correlate with their prestige or even their endowment size. A few mid-tier private schools actually gave me better packages than some "elite" institutions. The key insight for me was learning that your SAI is like a starting point for federal aid eligibility, but each school then applies their own institutional formula on top of that. Schools with strong need-based aid policies will try to get close to covering costs above your SAI, while others might only meet 60-70% of that demonstrated need. I ended up appealing to three schools and got meaningful increases from two of them. The successful appeals focused on comparing similar schools' offers and explaining specific financial circumstances that might not have been captured in the FAFSA. Definitely worth trying if there's a big gap between your SAI and what they're expecting!