FAFSA SAI calculation error - colleges can't figure it out

This exact thing happened to me! My SAI was calculating about $15,000 higher than it should have been based on our income. Turns out there was an error in how my parents' retirement accounts were being interpreted as available assets. Did your parents list any 401k or IRA accounts on the application? Sometimes the system misinterprets these as liquid assets. The colleges should be able to help with a professional judgment adjustment once they identify the specific calculation error.

omg thes SAI calculations r such a nightmare!! my sister had the same issue last yr and it took FOREVER to fix. you might have checked a box wrong somewhere. thats what happned to us lol

This sounds like a fairly common error in the new FAFSA system. There are a few things that commonly cause incorrect SAI calculations: 1. Retirement accounts being incorrectly counted as liquid assets (as mentioned above) 2. Incorrect reporting of untaxed income 3. A data transfer error from the IRS Data Retrieval Tool 4. Misreporting of household size or number in college 5. System glitches in the new FAFSA processing system Since both colleges are seeing the same issue, I'd recommend requesting a formal SAI recalculation through FSA. You'll need to submit Form 20-21F: Request for SAI Recalculation with supporting documentation of your family's actual financial situation. Both financial aid offices should be able to help you complete this process.

When you say no unusual assets, did your family recently sell any property or receive any one-time payments? I've seen cases where capital gains from a home sale or inheritance were calculated as recurring income rather than one-time events. The system is TERRIBLE at handling these special situations.

I spent WEEKS trying to get through to FSA about a similar issue last month. The wait times are ridiculous and half the time you get disconnected after waiting 2+ hours! I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that holds your place in the phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to pick up. Finally got through after days of trying on my own. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once I got through, the agent looked at my account and immediately spotted that a decimal point was in the wrong place on one of our income entries, making it look like we earned 10x more than we actually did! Fixed it in 5 minutes once I finally reached someone.

Also, did you check if you accidentally reported the same income in multiple sections? For instance, if you reported the $20K gift and then also included it elsewhere as untaxed income? Double-reporting is super common and can really mess up your SAI calculation.

just wondering has anyone had luck with those SAI appeal things? do they actually work?

Based on everything in this thread, I'd recommend these steps: 1. File a Special Circumstances form with both colleges explaining the one-time gift situation 2. Request an official SAI recalculation through FSA (this is different from the college-specific professional judgment) 3. Check your FAFSA for any possible double-reporting of income 4. If you can't reach FSA by phone, try the options others have mentioned or contact your schools' financial aid offices to see if they can connect with FSA on your behalf The good news is that legitimate calculation errors like this can be fixed. The frustrating part is navigating the bureaucracy to get it done. Keep us updated!

I used to work in a financial aid office before the new FAFSA system rolled out. This sounds like a combination of issues - the one-time gift being counted as income and possibly some confusion with retirement assets. The good news is both are fixable! Make sure you get everything in writing when you fix it, because sometimes these corrections can revert in the system.

I went through something similar last year and it was incredibly frustrating! In my case, the issue was that my parents accidentally reported their gross income in one section and then also included some of the same income as "untaxed income" in another section. The system basically double-counted about $18,000 of our income, which inflated our SAI by around $7,000. From what you've described with the $20,000 gift for medical expenses, that's almost certainly being treated as regular income rather than a one-time gift. The FAFSA system is notoriously bad at handling these special situations automatically. One thing that helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet showing exactly what our actual income was versus what the FAFSA was calculating, then highlighting the discrepancies. Both financial aid offices found this really helpful when they submitted the professional judgment requests on my behalf. Also, if you do end up needing to contact FSA directly, try calling right when they open (8 AM EST) - the hold times are usually shorter then. Good luck!