FAFSA SAI score of 17500 received - what does this number actually mean for aid?

The SAI (Student Aid Index) is basically what the government thinks your family can afford to pay per year for college. So with an SAI of 17500, colleges will expect your family to contribute about that much annually. Whether that's "good" depends on the cost of the schools your son is applying to. For a $25k school, you'd potentially get about $7.5k in need-based aid (though this varies by school). For a $45k school, you might qualify for around $27.5k in need-based aid. Remember that this is just a starting point - each college uses the SAI differently when creating their financial aid packages. Some meet 100% of demonstrated need, others meet only a portion.

that sai means u probly wont get pell grants. pell is usually for sai under 6000. my kid got 3200 sai and got max pell. yours is way higher. good luck

With an SAI of 17500, you're right at the edge for some institutional aid at many schools, but likely won't qualify for federal Pell Grants (which typically go to SAIs under ~6000). Here's what you need to do now: 1) Look at each college's financial aid calculator on their website - they'll often show what aid package you might receive with your specific SAI 2) Apply for outside scholarships - many local organizations offer scholarships that aren't based on financial need 3) Consider filing appeals with colleges if you have special circumstances not reflected in your FAFSA (medical expenses, job loss, etc) Each school has different formulas for how they use the SAI to determine aid. More expensive private schools might offer more generous institutional grants to make up the difference.

The whole FAFSA system is RIGGED against middle class families!!! My daughter had a 19000 SAI and got NOTHING from her state school while her roommate whose parents make way more than us somehow got grants??? The calculations are completely broken and favor families who know how to work the system. Good luck getting real help from anyone at the financial aid office - they just send you to the website which is ALWAYS down or broken.

Hey just wanted to share what worked for us with getting through to someone at Federal Student Aid when we had SAI questions. We used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that basically holds your place in the phone queue and calls you back when an agent is available. Saved us from waiting on hold for hours. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. We had a complicated situation with our FAFSA (divorce + business income) and really needed to talk to an actual person to get it sorted. Just thought I'd mention it since the hold times right now are insane.

I work in a college financial aid office. An SAI of 17500 means different things depending on the school's cost of attendance and their financial aid policies. For a $25k/year school, you'd have an estimated need of $7,500 ($25k - $17,500). For a $45k/year school, you'd have an estimated need of $27,500 ($45k - $17,500). But here's the important part many families miss: not all schools meet 100% of demonstrated need. Some might only cover 70-80% of that gap with grants, scholarships and loans combined. Also, the federal loan eligibility for first-year dependent students is $5,500 maximum regardless of need. So that's typically built into packages even before grants. My suggestion: wait for the actual financial aid award letters before making assumptions about costs. Each school handles the SAI differently.

I remember when my son went through this! The SAI used to be called the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) before they changed it. Same concept though. Our number was around 16000 and he still got some decent aid packages from certain schools - especially the private ones with bigger endowments. The state schools gave less aid overall. Don't get discouraged yet!

One more thing about your SAI - it's worth checking if there are any errors in your FAFSA that might have inflated your SAI. Common mistakes include: 1. Reporting retirement assets (401k, IRA) which should be excluded 2. Reporting the home you live in as an asset (primary residence is excluded) 3. Not properly reporting divorced parent information 4. Incorrectly entering business value for small family businesses If you think there might be errors, you can submit corrections to your FAFSA. An SAI reduction of even a few thousand can make a big difference in aid eligibility at some schools.

Just wanted to add that you should also check if your son qualifies for any state-specific financial aid programs! Many states have their own grant programs that use different income thresholds than federal aid. For example, some states offer grants to families with SAIs up to 25,000 or even higher. The deadlines for state aid are often earlier than federal deadlines, so definitely look into your state's higher education agency website. Also, don't forget about work-study programs - even if you don't qualify for need-based grants, many schools still offer work-study opportunities that can help offset costs. Good luck with everything!

As someone who just went through this process last year with my daughter, I wanted to share a few additional tips that really helped us maximize aid with a similar SAI (ours was around 18,000). First, definitely apply to a mix of schools - we found that some private colleges with large endowments actually offered better aid packages than our in-state public schools, even though their sticker prices were higher. Second, look into merit-based scholarships at each school your son is considering - these aren't tied to your SAI at all and can significantly reduce costs. Many schools automatically consider admitted students for merit aid, but some require separate applications. Also, once you get your aid offers in the spring, don't be afraid to reach out to financial aid offices if one school offered significantly more than another. Sometimes they can match or come closer to competing offers. The key is being polite but persistent. We ended up getting an additional $3,000 per year from my daughter's top choice school just by explaining our situation and showing them a better offer from another school. Hang in there - the process is stressful but there are definitely options even with a higher SAI!

I'm in a very similar situation - just got our SAI of 16,800 and feeling overwhelmed by what it all means! Reading through everyone's responses has been so helpful. I had no idea that private schools might actually be more generous than state schools, or that we could potentially negotiate between offers. One question I haven't seen addressed yet - should we be looking at the Net Price Calculators on each college website now, or wait until we get actual aid offers? I'm trying to figure out if we should adjust our college list based on our SAI or just apply broadly and see what happens. My daughter is a strong student (3.8 GPA, decent test scores) so hopefully she'll be competitive for some merit aid too. Also, for those who mentioned medical expenses and appeals - is there a specific dollar threshold where it makes sense to appeal? We have ongoing medical costs but not sure if they're "significant" enough to impact our SAI. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences - this community is such a lifesaver during this stressful process!

Hey everyone! I'm new to this whole FAFSA/SAI thing and this thread has been incredibly eye-opening. My daughter is just a junior in high school, so we haven't filled out our FAFSA yet, but reading about everyone's experiences is helping me prepare for what's coming. A few quick questions based on what I'm seeing here: Should I be trying to estimate our SAI now so we can start planning our college list accordingly? And is it worth meeting with a financial aid counselor before we even start the FAFSA process to make sure we understand how to report everything correctly? It sounds like there are so many ways to accidentally inflate your SAI by reporting assets incorrectly. Also, @Ally Tailer, I hope you get everything sorted out with your corrections and appeals! It sounds like you have some good strategies to explore based on all the advice here. Thanks to everyone sharing their knowledge - this is exactly the kind of real-world info that parents need but can never find in the official guides!

Just wanted to jump in as another parent navigating this maze! We got an SAI of 16,200 last month and I've been stressing about what it means for our actual out-of-pocket costs. Reading through all these responses has been SO helpful - especially learning about the rental property reporting issue and the possibility of merit aid not being tied to SAI. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the timing of when schools actually send out their financial aid packages. Does anyone know if schools use the SAI immediately when making aid decisions, or do they wait for any corrections we might submit? We're considering making some corrections based on the asset reporting tips shared here, but I'm worried about delaying our aid processing if schools are already working on packages. Also, @Olivia Van-Cleve, I'd definitely recommend starting to research this early like you're doing! We went into this pretty blind and it's been overwhelming. The Net Price Calculators someone mentioned seem like a great place to start getting realistic expectations. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences - it's such a relief to know we're not alone in feeling confused by all of this!

As a newcomer here, I just want to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been! My family is just starting the college search process and I had never even heard of SAI before stumbling across this discussion. Reading everyone's real experiences and practical advice has taught me more about financial aid than any official website or guidance counselor session. The tips about asset reporting mistakes, merit vs need-based aid, and the possibility of appealing or negotiating with schools are all things I never would have known to look for. I'm definitely going to bookmark this thread and come back to it when we start our own FAFSA journey. @Ally Tailer - I hope your corrections and appeals work out well! It sounds like you have a solid plan now based on all the great advice you've received. And thank you for starting this conversation - it's clearly helping so many families navigate this confusing process!