FAFSA SAI of 20,000 but only got loans in aid package - no grants?

welcome to american higher education! they dont care about your family size, just what they can get from u. my kid got the exact same thing with lower SAI. its all loans loans loans

Your SAI of 20,000 is unfortunately still too high for many need-based grants at many schools. The federal Pell Grant typically only goes to students with an SAI under 6,000. Each school also has their own formula for institutional aid, and many private schools now practice "merit-leveraging" where they save their grants for students they're trying to recruit, regardless of need. A few things to consider: 1. Did your daughter receive any merit scholarships separately? Sometimes these come in different letters. 2. Have there been any major financial changes since you filed FAFSA? (job loss, medical expenses) 3. What type of school is this? Private universities often have more institutional aid than public ones. You can absolutely appeal the financial aid decision based on your family size and specific circumstances.

We went through this last year. The system is completely broken. Our SAI was 18K with 4 kids and we got nothing but loans too. I called the school's financial aid office and spent HOURS trying to get someone to explain how a family with 4 kids and modest income was supposed to pay $35K a year. They just kept saying "that's what your SAI indicates you can pay." RIDICULOUS!

Have you tried calling the Federal Student Aid office directly to see if there might be an error in your FAFSA or SAI calculation? With 5 kids and 3 under 12, something seems off. I'd verify all your information is correct before accepting that aid package. I had trouble getting through to them on the phone until I discovered Claimyr.com - they helped me skip the wait time and got me connected to an FSA agent in minutes. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent helped me discover we had incorrectly reported some business income which dramatically changed our aid eligibility. Worth checking before making any final decisions.

I'd recommend pursuing two paths simultaneously: 1. Appeal the financial aid decision with the school directly. Write a detailed letter explaining your family size and specific financial obligations. Be concrete about numbers - childcare costs, medical expenses, etc. Many schools have a formal appeal process. 2. Look at what changes next year's FAFSA might bring. The 2025-2026 FAFSA has a new formula that gives more weight to families with multiple children in college. Do you have another child who will be in college next year? That could significantly improve your aid package next year. Also, don't forget to explore outside scholarships. There are many targeted at students who are siblings in large families.

did u check if u filed the FAFSA right? our SAI was like 25k but we accidently counted our retirement savings in the assets section which we weren't suppose to do. we got it fixed and our SAI dropped to like 8k and then we got some actual grants. also somtimes the css profile matters more than fafsa for private schools fyi

Just to offer a different perspective - an SAI of 20,000 means the government formula determined your family can contribute $20,000 per year toward education costs. While that may not feel feasible with your family size, it's high enough that most federal grant programs won't apply. What many families in your situation do: 1. Use the $5,500 federal student loan (it has the best terms) 2. Pay what you can from savings/current income 3. Consider a less expensive school 4. Look at work-study programs 5. Only use Parent PLUS loans as a last resort for the gap Most importantly - this is just ONE school's offer. Different schools with the same FAFSA info might offer very different institutional aid packages.

I'm dealing with a similar situation with my son - SAI of 22,000 and basically got nothing but loans from his top choice school. What really helped us was doing a side-by-side comparison of ALL the schools he got into. We created a spreadsheet with total cost, aid offered, and net price for each option. One state school actually gave him a $8,000 merit scholarship we almost overlooked, which made it significantly more affordable than the "dream school" that offered nothing. Sometimes the school that seems like second choice financially ends up being the smart choice. Also, don't feel bad about having your daughter call the financial aid office directly - sometimes they respond better to the student than the parent. Good luck!