FAFSA SAI of 39,635 - what income level is this? Need income-to-SAI chart

There's no direct chart because SAI isn't just based on income - it factors in assets, family size, number in college, and other variables. But generally, an SAI of 39,635 suggests your household income is probably in the $120,000-$150,000 range, depending on your specific situation. The formula is complicated, but essentially: - Income protection allowance is subtracted - Assets are assessed at different rates (parents vs. student) - Family size adjustments are applied - Multiple students in college reduces SAI You can find the full formula in the Federal Student Aid handbook if you want the details. Does your income fall somewhere in that range?

we got a 41200 SAI and make around 145k with 2 kids (1 in college). sounds like ur in the right ballpark. the system is rigged against middle class families imho

With an SAI of 39,635, here's what you can typically expect: 1. Federal Pell Grants - Unlikely (usually requires SAI under 6,656) 2. Subsidized Direct Loans - Possible but limited 3. Unsubsidized Direct Loans - Yes, available regardless of need 4. Work-Study - Maybe, depends on the school 5. Institutional Aid - Varies widely by college Many private colleges and some public universities have their own institutional funds they can award even with higher SAIs. Look for schools known for meeting demonstrated need or that offer merit scholarships not tied to SAI. Each college will interpret your SAI differently based on their own cost of attendance and financial aid policies.

My son had similar SAI and we still got decent aid from his school. Don't just look at the SAI number by itself - apply to schools and see what they offer. Some will surprise you!

I spent HOURS trying to get someone on the phone at Federal Student Aid to explain how they calculated our SAI and kept getting disconnected. Finally, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual person at FSA in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent walked me through the exact formula they used and found we had actually made an error reporting our retirement accounts that significantly increased our SAI. Worth checking if something similar happened to you.

Your SAI means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in terms of what you'll actually pay!!! The whole system is RIDICULOUS! We had an SAI of 42,000 and some schools wanted us to pay FULL PRICE ($78k/yr!!!) while others gave us $30k in aid. It's all a game. Apply EVERYWHERE and negotiate with financial aid offices. Don't assume anything based on SAI!!!!!

One thing to check - make sure you didn't accidentally include retirement accounts in your asset calculations. That's a common mistake that can drastically inflate your SAI. Also check that you properly reported any business assets if you're self-employed. These are often areas where people report incorrectly and end up with an artificially high SAI.

lol ur asking for a chart that doesnt exist. SAI isnt just income, depends on like 20 things

We were in a similar situation last year. What helped us most was contacting each school's financial aid office directly and explaining our circumstances. Many schools have additional scholarships they can offer that aren't based solely on your FAFSA results. Also look into outside scholarships - my daughter got about $8k from local organizations that really helped offset costs.

Hey there! I'm new to this whole FAFSA process and your situation sounds similar to mine. We're also a single-income household and just submitted our FAFSA but haven't gotten our SAI back yet. Reading through these responses is really eye-opening - I had no idea that schools could offer such different aid packages with the same SAI! One thing I'm curious about - for those of you who had success negotiating with financial aid offices, what exactly did you say? Did you just call and ask if there was any additional aid available, or did you have to provide specific documentation about your circumstances? I'm trying to prepare for when we get our results back. Also, @Luca Conti, have you had a chance to double-check your retirement account reporting yet? I'm wondering if I should review our application before we even get our SAI to make sure we didn't make any similar mistakes.

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest child, I wanted to share a few additional resources that might help. The College Board has a SAI calculator on their website that can give you a rough estimate of whether your SAI seems accurate based on your income and assets. It's not perfect, but it can help you spot obvious errors. Also, don't overlook state aid programs! Many states have their own grant programs with different income thresholds than federal aid. For example, some state programs consider families making up to $200k depending on family size. Check your state's higher education website - the eligibility requirements are often more generous than federal programs. One more thing - if your daughter has strong grades or test scores, focus on schools where she'd be in the top 25% of admitted students. These schools are more likely to offer merit aid that's not tied to your SAI at all. Sometimes a "safety" school academically can become financially attractive because they're competing for higher-stats students. Good luck with the process! It's stressful but there are definitely options out there even with a higher SAI.