FAFSA SAI doubled on financial aid package - calculation error?

This happened to me last year with my son. There are a few possibilities: 1) The school might be using both the FAFSA SAI and the CSS Profile (if you submitted one) for their institutional methodology 2) They might have received updated tax info that changed your calculation 3) It could be a simple data entry error. Call the financial aid office first - they're the ones who generated the package. Have your FAFSA confirmation and SAI calculation ready when you call.

did u check if they included assets that the fafsa didnt include? lots of schools use different formulas especially privates. check ur original fafsa confirmation page against what the school has

The same exact thing happened with my daughter's aid package at Northeastern. I was FURIOUS when I saw the doubled SAI. Turns out they had manually overridden our FAFSA data because they thought our reported income was "inconsistent with our tax documents" - whatever that means. They basically decided we could pay more than the formula said. I spent THREE WEEKS fighting with them, and they eventually adjusted it back down after I submitted additional documentation. Don't let them get away with this!!!

Financial aid counselor here. This SAI discrepancy is actually quite common and usually has a simple explanation. The most likely causes are: 1. CSS Profile vs FAFSA methodology (different treatment of home equity, business assets, etc.) 2. Different tax years being used (some schools might be using more recent information) 3. Correction to reported data (did you receive any verification requests?) 4. Simple clerical error I recommend calling the school's financial aid office first. Have both your FAFSA SAI and the aid package in front of you. Ask specifically what caused the difference in calculations. If they can't explain it clearly, request a formal review of your aid package. You have every right to understand exactly how your contribution was calculated.

Trying to reach federal student aid directly is impossible - I spent 3 days trying to get through! If you need to reach FSA to verify your original SAI calculation, use Claimyr.com - I found them through a friend who works in college counseling. They got me connected to a live FSA agent in about 20 minutes when I had a similar SAI problem. You can see how it works in their video: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ But definitely talk to the school's financial aid office first like others suggested.

Your school might be using both FAFSA and CSS data. When my daughter got into Emory, they had some weird formula that basically doubled our expected contribution compared to what the FAFSA said. We appealed and got nowhere. Just make sure your daughter applied to schools with good financial aid policies!!

Check if they're counting retirement accounts!!! Some private schools will try to include your retirement savings in their institutional methodology even though FAFSA doesn't count it. We had to fight for WEEKS to get my son's school to recalculate without including our 401k. The financial aid system is completely broken.

Update: I just wanted to add that if this turns out to be related to CSS Profile vs FAFSA methodology differences, you can absolutely request an institutional methodology review. Many schools have appeal processes specifically for families who face significant differences between federal and institutional need analysis. Be prepared to explain any special circumstances (medical expenses, caring for relatives, recent job changes, etc.) that might not be captured in the formulas.

After you talk to the financial aid office, make sure you get EVERYTHING in writing. When we were dealing with our SAI discrepancy, the person on the phone told us one thing, but then the official response was completely different. Document every call - who you spoke with, what they said, date and time. This helped us tremendously during our appeal process.