FAFSA SAI jumped from 47000 to 300000 with same income - what happened?

There was a major SAI calculation change for the 2024-2025 FAFSA that continued into this year, but that kind of jump seems excessive even with the formula changes. A few questions: 1) Did you have any capital gains, retirement withdrawals, or property sales this year? 2) Did your family size change on the application? 3) Check if you accidentally entered income in thousands (adding extra zeros). I've seen this happen when people put $95,000 as $950,000 by mistake. The new formula is tougher on middle/upper-middle income families, but a 6X increase suggests either a major income event or a data entry error.

omg the SAME THING happened to my brother!!!! his SAI went from like 30k to over 200k and literally nothing changed in their finances! they called the financial aid office at his kid's school and they said lots of people are seeing crazy increases this year. something about asset calculations being different?? idk but ur definitely not alone

The new FAFSA calculations are hitting a lot of middle-class families hard. Two MAJOR changes that might explain your situation: 1. They removed the allowance for paying state/local taxes (used to reduce your counted income) 2. They eliminated the sibling discount (multiple kids in college no longer divides your contribution) 3. Home equity and small business assets are now fully counted Paying off your mortgage means all that equity is now directly in your asset calculation. And your wife doubling her income also has a huge impact. The new formula takes a much higher percentage of secondary earner income than the old formula did. It's not a glitch - it's by design unfortunately.

check if you entered something in the wrong box. my daughter had this happen and it turned out she put our home value in the investment property section lol. once we fixed that her SAI dropped back to normal.

I help families with financial aid appeals, and I'm seeing this issue constantly this year. Your wife going from part-time to full-time is a MASSIVE factor in the new formula. The old FAFSA had something called the Income Protection Allowance that shielded some second-earner income. That's gone now. Also, paying off your mortgage means your cash reserves are higher (money not going to monthly payments), which gets counted heavily. You should immediately: 1) Contact each college's financial aid office directly with a special circumstances letter 2) Submit CSS Profile if the schools accept it (has more detail than FAFSA) 3) Ask for a professional judgment review based on the dramatic SAI change Many schools have discretionary funds they can award even when federal formulas show no need.

Have you tried calling the Federal Student Aid helpline? I spent THREE WEEKS trying to get through to someone about our SAI calculation error. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person within 15 minutes. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent I spoke with confirmed there was a processing error on my son's application that caused our SAI to be calculated incorrectly. They fixed it on the spot and our number dropped by over $100k! Worth checking if there's an actual system error rather than just the formula changes.

THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF THE NEW FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION!!! They promised it would make things easier but all they did was make it IMPOSSIBLE for middle class families to get ANY aid! My daughter is valedictorian with perfect SAT scores and she can't get a PENNY of aid because our SAI magically went from $20k to $190k this year. Nothing changed in our finances AT ALL. The whole system is RIGGED against families who work hard and save money! Meanwhile kids whose parents never saved a dime get full rides. Complete JOKE of a system.

Here's something many people aren't aware of - you can still appeal your SAI directly with the Department of Education if you believe there's a technical error. This is separate from college-specific financial aid appeals. Submit Form ADB-3 along with documentation of your unchanged financial circumstances. The review takes 3-4 weeks but can identify calculation errors. With such a dramatic increase, it's worth pursuing this avenue alongside college-specific appeals.

my cousin works in financial aid and she said their office is FLOODED with complaints about SAI increases this year. she said to definitely appeal but also start looking at schools with good merit scholarships that dont care about FAFSA results. also check out direct admission schools where your daughter's grades/scores get automatic scholarships!!

I'm a financial aid counselor and I'm seeing this exact scenario play out for dozens of families this year. The combination of your wife going full-time AND paying off your mortgage created a "perfect storm" under the new formula. Here's what likely happened: 1) The new FAFSA counts a much higher percentage of second-earner income (your wife's $30k increase hit you hard) 2) Paying off your mortgage freed up monthly cash flow that the formula now considers "available income" 3) Your home equity is now fully exposed as an asset without mortgage debt to offset it 4) The elimination of state tax allowances added back thousands to your "available income" This isn't a glitch - it's the new reality for middle-class homeowners. I'd recommend immediately filing professional judgment appeals with every school citing the dramatic formula change as unusual circumstances. Many schools have discretionary funds specifically for families caught in this transition. Also look into Parent PLUS loans as a bridge while you appeal - the terms aren't great but they're available regardless of SAI.

As someone who just went through this nightmare myself, I feel your pain completely! My SAI jumped from $32k to $180k this year with almost identical circumstances - spouse went from part-time to full-time work and we had paid down significant debt. After weeks of research and appeals, here's what I learned: The new formula is absolutely brutal on families who made "positive" financial changes. Your wife's income increase gets hit with a much higher assessment rate than before, and eliminating your mortgage payment means that money is now considered "discretionary income" available for college costs. It's completely backwards logic but that's how the formula works now. I had success with professional judgment appeals by focusing on three key points: 1) The dramatic year-over-year change despite stable financial circumstances, 2) How the formula changes penalize financial responsibility, and 3) Documentation showing our actual monthly budget hasn't changed dramatically despite what the SAI suggests. Two schools reduced my daughter's calculated contribution by $15-20k through institutional aid after the appeal. It's worth fighting for! Also look into schools that meet 100% of demonstrated need - they often have more flexibility to work around problematic FAFSA calculations.

I'm going through almost the exact same situation! My SAI went from $52k to $285k this year and I was completely baffled until I read through this thread. Like you, we paid off our mortgage last year and my husband increased his work hours significantly. I had no idea these "positive" financial changes would backfire so dramatically under the new formula. What's particularly frustrating is that we specifically paid off our house early to REDUCE our monthly expenses before college costs hit, thinking it would help our financial aid situation. Instead, the new FAFSA formula treats that freed-up mortgage payment as money we can now spend on college - completely ignoring that we still need to cover property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and you know, actually live our lives! I've started the appeal process with three schools so far using some of the strategies mentioned here. One financial aid officer actually told me off the record that they're seeing "unprecedented" numbers of middle-class families caught off guard by these formula changes, and many schools are trying to find ways to help bridge the gap through institutional aid. Hang in there - you're definitely not alone in this mess, and it sounds like there are viable paths forward through appeals and targeting schools with better merit aid programs.

I'm a newcomer to this community but unfortunately not new to this exact problem! My family is dealing with nearly identical circumstances - our SAI skyrocketed from $41k to $275k this year after my spouse went from part-time to full-time work and we paid off a significant portion of our mortgage debt. Reading through all these responses has been both eye-opening and deeply frustrating. It's clear the new FAFSA formula is systematically penalizing middle-class families who made responsible financial decisions. The idea that paying off debt somehow makes us wealthy enough to afford a $275k annual college contribution is completely divorced from reality. I'm curious if anyone has had success with the Congressional inquiry route? My understanding is that contacting your representatives about federal program issues can sometimes expedite reviews or bring additional pressure to bear. With so many families affected, this seems like it could be a broader policy issue worth escalating beyond individual appeals. Also, has anyone looked into whether there are legal challenges to these formula changes? When a federal program undergoes changes that dramatically impact millions of families, there are usually advocacy groups that track these issues. It might be worth connecting with organizations like the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators to see if they're aware of any systematic review efforts. Thanks for sharing all this information - it's incredibly helpful to know we're not alone in this nightmare!

I'm new to this community but dealing with the exact same devastating situation! Our SAI exploded from $39k to $267k this year, and like so many others here, we made the "mistake" of paying off our mortgage and having my spouse increase work hours. Reading through this thread has been incredibly validating but also infuriating - it's clear this isn't isolated incidents but a systematic problem affecting thousands of responsible middle-class families. What strikes me most is how backwards the incentives are in this new formula. We're essentially being punished for financial responsibility while families who made different choices get rewarded with aid. The assumption that our former mortgage payment is now discretionary income available for college costs completely ignores basic household financial realities. I'm planning to pursue all the appeal strategies mentioned here, but I'm also wondering if we should be organizing more collectively. With this many families affected, there might be strength in numbers - whether that's coordinated Congressional outreach, media attention, or connecting with higher education advocacy groups. This feels bigger than individual financial aid appeals at this point. Has anyone started tracking which schools are being most responsive to these appeals? It might be helpful to compile a list of institutions that are acknowledging this formula problem and working with affected families versus those that are just pointing to the SAI numbers and saying "sorry." Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences and strategies - knowing we're not alone in this makes it feel less impossible to navigate!