FAFSA SAI jumped from $79k to $300k overnight - what caused this massive error?

omg that sounds like a glitch in the system... no way ur SAI should match ur income like that. did u try calling the fafsa people?

This is actually a fairly common issue in the new FAFSA system. There are several possible explanations for such a dramatic increase: 1. Asset reporting errors - The new FAFSA pulls some data directly from IRS, but asset values still need manual entry. If real estate, investments, or business assets were incorrectly entered (extra zeros, decimal point errors), this can drastically inflate your SAI. 2. Multiple property misclassification - If you own more than one property and the system counted your non-primary residences as non-reportable, that's a major error. 3. Retirement account inclusion - If retirement accounts (which should be excluded) were somehow counted as reportable assets. 4. Multiple student households - If you have multiple children in college, check if that information was dropped from your application. 5. System calculation error - There have been many reports of system-side calculation errors in this first year of the new FAFSA. You should immediately file a correction and document everything with screenshots.

This happened to my cousin last month!! Their SAI jumped from 55k to like 200k for no reason. Turns out they had accidentally entered their home value as an additional investment property somehow. They had to submit correction paperwork and it took like 3 weeks to get fixed ugh

I went through something similar, though not quite that extreme. My advice is to immediately request a professional judgment review from your child's school financial aid office. They have more flexibility to address calculation errors than the general FAFSA system. Two specific things to check: 1) Make sure you didn't accidentally enter your home equity twice (once as property value and once as an investment) 2) Check if you entered business assets properly - small businesses under 100 employees are supposed to be protected I'd also recommend taking screenshots of your current SAI showing the $300k figure before making any corrections. Documentation will be critical if you need to appeal financial aid packages later.

THE NEW FAFSA IS A COMPLETE DISASTER!!!! I can't believe how badly they've botched this rollout. We had similar issues but in reverse - our SAI was calculated at $0 even though we make decent money and own a home. I was actually worried we'd get flagged for fraud even though we entered everything correctly! Truth is the entire system is broken and now millions of families are panicking about incorrect calculations. I've heard from multiple people who've spent DAYS trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid with no luck. They just disconnect you after hours on hold. RIDICULOUS!!! 😡

Have you tried using Claimyr to reach Federal Student Aid? I was in the exact same situation (SAI jumped from 60k to 200k) and spent days trying to get someone on the phone. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through to an actual agent in about 15 minutes. They confirmed there was a system calculation error affecting certain applications with business income or multiple properties. You can see how the service works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent was able to flag my application for immediate review and my SAI was corrected within 48 hours. Worth trying if you're up against scholarship deadlines.

Financial aid professional here. This is definitely an error and you should take these steps immediately: 1. Print/screenshot your current SAI calculation for documentation 2. File a correction through studentaid.gov focusing on reviewing all asset entries 3. Contact each school's financial aid office where your student applied and explain the situation 4. Request a special circumstances review based on the obvious calculation error 5. For any scholarship applications, include a brief explanation and your original SAI documentation The most common causes for these dramatic increases are: - Real estate categorization errors (primary residence vs investment property) - Small business reporting errors (businesses with <100 employees have different treatment) - Decimal point errors in asset values (entering $200,000 as $2,000,000) - Tax-protected retirement accounts being incorrectly included One final note: the system occasionally has batch processing errors where it will pull incorrect values from IRS data. These usually correct themselves within 2-3 weeks, but you can't afford to wait that long with scholarship deadlines approaching.

did u check if maybe u accidently put ur yearly income as monthly? my buddy did that lol and it multiplied everything by 12 🙈

UPDATE: After spending hours going through our application, I found the problem! Somehow our primary residence (worth about $450k) got classified as an investment property rather than our home. And then our actual rental property (worth about $220k) was ALSO listed correctly. So the system was counting an extra $450k as an investment asset! No wonder our SAI skyrocketed. I've submitted a correction, but I'm worried about how long it will take to process. Has anyone had experience with correction processing times for the new FAFSA?

That's such a relief that you found the root cause! The primary residence misclassification is actually one of the most common errors I've seen with the new FAFSA system. Since you're up against scholarship deadlines, I'd suggest also reaching out to your daughter's school counselor - they often have relationships with scholarship committees and can help advocate for deadline extensions when there are documented FAFSA errors. Many schools are also creating "FAFSA error documentation letters" specifically for situations like yours to help families with scholarship applications while waiting for corrections to process.

I'm so glad you found the issue with your primary residence being misclassified! That's exactly the kind of error that's been plaguing families this year. One additional tip - while you're waiting for the correction to process, consider contacting the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). They've been tracking these systematic errors and can sometimes expedite reviews for families facing urgent deadlines. Also, if any of your scholarship applications ask for an explanation of unusual circumstances, definitely mention this FAFSA classification error - most committees are very understanding about the technical issues families have faced this year.

I'm a new member here but dealing with a similar FAFSA nightmare! My SAI went from $45k to $180k and I've been panicking for weeks. Reading through all these responses is incredibly helpful - especially seeing that Victoria found her issue was the primary residence misclassification. I'm going to go back through my application tonight and check for that exact same error. It's reassuring (but also frustrating) to know this is happening to so many families. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions - this community is a lifesaver during such a stressful time!

I'm a financial aid counselor and want to emphasize how important it is that you found the primary residence classification error - this is definitely one of the most widespread issues we're seeing with the new FAFSA. A few additional steps I'd recommend while waiting for your correction to process: 1. Contact the Federal Student Aid ombudsman if your correction takes longer than 2 weeks - they can escalate systematic errors like this 2. Ask your daughter's colleges for a "provisional financial aid package" based on your original $79k SAI while the correction is pending 3. For scholarship applications, include both your original SAI screenshot and proof of correction submission - most committees are granting extensions for documented FAFSA errors The good news is that once corrected, your aid eligibility should return to what you originally expected. Many schools are also holding spots in their aid budgets specifically for families affected by these calculation errors, so don't panic about missing out on institutional aid. Document everything and stay persistent with follow-ups!