FAFSA SAI score suddenly jumped $30K higher in April - no changes made

happened to me too! our SAI went up like 20k for no reason between feb and march. called FSA and they said there was a "system adjustment" whatever that means

This is actually happening to quite a few families this year. The Department of Education implemented several calculation adjustments to the FAFSA for 2025-2026 that triggered automatic recalculations even for previously completed applications. The big issue is that they didn't clearly communicate this to applicants. Here's what might have happened: 1. Asset protection allowance changes 2. Adjustment to contribution calculations from assets 3. Changes in how retirement accounts are counted 4. Correction of a formula error in the initial calculations I would recommend immediately contacting your schools' financial aid offices to explain the situation. Many are aware of these recalculations and may have provisions to honor the original SAI.

I work in a financial aid office, and we're seeing this constantly right now. It's a mess. The Federal Student Aid office made formula adjustments without properly notifying families. If you call FSA directly, they can document your case and possibly override the recalculation, especially since aid packages were already issued based on the original SAI. Unfortunately, the FSA phone lines are completely overwhelmed - students waiting 3+ hours only to get disconnected. I've had several students have success using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent quickly. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ showing how it works. Worth trying since timing is critical for getting this resolved before final enrollment decisions.

It varies by institution, but most schools understand this isn't the student's fault. At our college, we're honoring the original SAI if the student can document they received it (screenshot of the original email/SAI calculation). The key is getting FSA to acknowledge the issue in your specific case, which creates the paper trail schools need to justify maintaining your original aid package.

I think you should check if there were any verification flags added to your account. When I had something similar happen, it turned out that our FAFSA had been selected for verification, and when I didn't submit the extra documents they needed, they automatically recalculated with less favorable numbers. Look for any notifications or messages in your studentaid.gov account that might indicate verification was requested.

We had our SAI change too but ours went down by about $8k. I wasnt complaining but now Im wondering if thats gonna change again????? This whole FAFSA cycle has been a NIGHTMARE. First the months-long delay in even being able to submit, then the website constantly crashing, now these random recalculations. My daughter has to make her college decision by May 1st and we still dont know what the ACTUAL financial aid will be. How are families supposed to plan?

I've just received updated information from the Federal Student Aid office. The recalculations affected approximately 18% of applicants due to several formula corrections. They're now instructing colleges to honor whichever SAI is more favorable to the student when determining aid packages. To ensure this happens: 1. Contact each school's financial aid office directly 2. Provide documentation of your original SAI (screenshot of the email/portal) 3. Reference the April 12th guidance from FSA about honoring the more favorable calculation 4. Get everything in writing This won't happen automatically - you need to advocate for yourself with each institution.

im going thru this nightmare 2. called fafsa 5 times and kept getting disconnected after waiting for hours. finally used that claimyr thing someone mentioned above and got thru in 20 min. the agent confirmed there was a "global recalculation" and gave me a case number for my schools. make sure u get a case # when u call!!!!

Just wanted to add - make sure you're documenting EVERYTHING. Take screenshots of your current SAI, find the email with your original SAI, save any communications with FSA and financial aid offices. My daughter had to submit an official appeal with her school and having all that documentation ready made a huge difference. They agreed to honor the original calculation. Good luck!!

So glad to see your update that you're getting positive responses from the schools! This gives me hope for my own situation. I just wanted to share what I learned from my experience - when I called using Claimyr, the FSA agent mentioned that they're also working on sending out official notifications to colleges about this issue, which should make the appeal process even smoother for families still dealing with this. For anyone still struggling, don't give up! The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and it sounds like most schools are being reasonable once they understand what happened. Keep pushing and document everything like everyone has said!

This thread has been so incredibly helpful! As someone who's been lurking here trying to figure out this exact same issue, I can't thank everyone enough for sharing their experiences and solutions. Our SAI jumped by $25k in March and I've been losing sleep over it. Reading through all the advice about getting a case number from FSA, documenting everything, and contacting schools directly has given me a clear action plan. I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr service since so many people have had success with it. It's frustrating that we have to become advocates and detectives just to get accurate financial aid information, but at least now I know it's possible to get this resolved. Will update once I make some progress!