FAFSA SAI suddenly jumped from -15000 to 14376 after adding second school - will I lose Pell Grant?

Adding a school should NEVER change your SAI. The Student Aid Index is calculated based on your financial information only, not which schools you're applying to. This sounds like either a system glitch or there was some kind of correction or update applied to your FAFSA at the same time you added the school (but not caused by adding the school). I would definitely contact Federal Student Aid right away to find out what happened. Your eligibility for the Pell Grant is definitely at stake with a change that dramatic.

omg the exact same thing happened to my brother last week!!! his SAI went from negative to positive after adding his backup school. the financial aid office told him it was a "processing error" whatever that means 🙄

This happened to me too! I submitted my FAFSA with just 1 school and my SAI was about -8900, then added 2 more schools and suddenly my SAI jumped to +5670!!! I called and called but couldn't get through to anyone. When I finally did, they put me on hold forever then the call dropped. FAFSA's whole system is broken this year with all these new changes. I ended up going to my school's financial aid office and they told me it was probably because the first calculation was incorrect and when I added schools it triggered a recalculation that caught the error. Still trying to figure out which number is right...

I work in a financial aid office, and I can tell you adding a school DOES NOT change your SAI calculation. This is 100% either a glitch or there was a correction applied to your FAFSA. One thing to check - did you by any chance get an email about a correction being made to your FAFSA? Sometimes parents or other contributors can make changes that you might not be aware of. Also check if the IRS data retrieval tool was applied or removed between your submissions. Either way, you need to contact FSA directly. Your Pell Grant eligibility is determined by your SAI, and with an SAI of 14376, you'd likely receive a much smaller Pell Grant than with -15000 (which would qualify for maximum Pell).

wait im confused. i thought negative SAI was impossible with the new FAFSA? i heard the minimum was supposed to be 0 now? how did you get a -15000 in the first place?

I had endless problems trying to reach someone at FSA when something similar happened to me (though my SAI only changed by about 3000). After wasting HOURS on hold only to get disconnected, I finally discovered this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ It saved me so much frustration. I got through to a real person who fixed my SAI issue in about 10 minutes once I actually got to speak with them. With changes that impact your Pell Grant eligibility, you really need to talk to a human ASAP.

Based on what you've described, this is definitely something that needs to be addressed with Federal Student Aid directly. Adding a school should have absolutely no impact on your SAI calculation. Here's what I recommend: 1. Take screenshots of your current SAI and save any documentation showing your previous SAI 2. Contact FSA directly (the callback service mentioned above is a good option) 3. While waiting for resolution, contact both schools' financial aid offices to alert them to the situation 4. Check your FAFSA confirmation page to see if any other data changed besides the SAI 5. Ask FSA to document the error and correction in your file The good news is that these types of system errors are generally fixable, and if you qualified for maximum Pell initially, you should still qualify once this is corrected. Just make sure to address it promptly since schools will begin packaging aid for 2025-26 in the coming months.

random question but what schools did u add? my cousin said some private schools require extra financial info that might trigger a recalculation but im not sure if thats true

Make sure to check if the "contributor" section changed too!! In my case, when my SAI jumped, I noticed that somehow my father (who I haven't lived with in 10 years and doesn't contribute a dime to my education) got added as a contributor even though I filed as independent! The system is SO BUGGY this year!!! 😡

Please update us once you get this resolved! Your experience could help others facing similar issues. The 2025-26 FAFSA has had so many technical problems that it's important to document these cases and their resolutions.

This is absolutely a system error and you're right to be concerned! As others have mentioned, adding schools should never change your SAI calculation. I've seen this happen to several students this year - it seems to be a recurring bug with the 2025-26 FAFSA system. A few additional tips while you're working to get this resolved: 1. When you call FSA, ask them to put a note in your file about the error and request a case number for tracking 2. Keep your original FAFSA confirmation email/PDF if you have it - this can serve as proof of your original SAI 3. If FSA gives you any pushback, escalate to a supervisor immediately since this impacts your Pell Grant eligibility The difference between -15000 and 14376 is huge for your aid eligibility, so don't let them brush this off. Your original negative SAI would qualify you for maximum Pell Grant, while 14376 would likely mean little to no Pell Grant funding. Stay persistent and document everything! Good luck and definitely keep us posted on the resolution!

This is such a frustrating situation, but you're definitely not alone! I went through something similar last year and it turned out to be a processing error on FAFSA's end. The fact that your SAI changed so dramatically just from adding a school code is a clear red flag that something went wrong in their system. One thing I'd suggest is to also check your Student Aid Report (SAR) to see if there are any data elements that look different between your original submission and now. Sometimes these system glitches can cause other information to get scrambled too, not just the SAI calculation. Also, when you call FSA, be prepared for them to potentially tell you that you need to wait for a "correction" to process. Don't accept that - this isn't a correction you made, it's their system error, and they need to fix it promptly since it affects your aid eligibility. With that big of a difference in SAI, you're looking at potentially losing thousands in Pell Grant funding. Hang in there and keep fighting for the correct calculation. The squeaky wheel gets the grease with these federal agencies!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this - what a nightmare! I'm actually going through financial aid applications myself right now and this kind of error would absolutely terrify me too. From everything I've read here, it sounds like you have a really solid plan to get this fixed. The fact that multiple people have confirmed this is definitely a system error (not something you did wrong) should give you confidence when you call FSA tomorrow. One small suggestion - when you call, maybe ask them specifically about the timing of when this error occurred. Since it happened right after you added the second school, there might be something in their system logs that shows exactly what triggered the incorrect recalculation. That could help them identify and prevent this from happening to other students too. I really hope you get this resolved quickly! The difference between qualifying for maximum Pell Grant vs. potentially getting little to no aid is huge. Please do update us when you hear back from them - I'm sure there are other students lurking here who might face the same issue.

This exact same thing happened to me two months ago! My SAI went from -12,500 to +8,900 overnight after I added a backup school. I was absolutely panicking because I knew it would kill my Pell Grant eligibility. I used that Claimyr callback service someone mentioned above and finally got through to FSA after about 6 hours of waiting (but at least I didn't have to sit on hold). The agent told me it was a "system synchronization error" that sometimes happens when the database updates. She was able to see both SAI calculations in their system and confirmed the original negative SAI was correct. The fix took about 3 business days to show up in my account, but they were able to put a priority flag on my case since it involved Pell Grant eligibility. Make sure you emphasize that when you call - they seemed to take it more seriously when I mentioned the financial aid impact. Also, screenshot EVERYTHING before you call. I took pictures of my SAI, my school list, my SAR, everything. The agent asked me to verify several numbers from my account during the call, so having all that info ready really helped speed things up. You've got this! Don't let them tell you it's normal or that you have to wait weeks for it to resolve itself. This is their error and they need to fix it ASAP.

I just wanted to chime in as someone who works with FAFSA applications regularly - this is definitely a known issue with the 2025-26 system. You're absolutely doing the right thing by not accepting this change and fighting to get it corrected. One thing I'd add to all the great advice here: when you call FSA, ask them to email you a summary of the call and the steps they're taking to resolve it. Having that documentation in writing can be really helpful if you need to follow up or if the fix doesn't go through properly the first time. Also, give your community college's financial aid office a heads up about this situation. Even though they can't fix the FAFSA error themselves, they may be able to put a note in your file so they don't start processing your aid package based on the incorrect SAI. Some schools can also advocate for students when dealing with federal aid issues. The fact that multiple people here have experienced the same problem really shows this is a systemic issue with their database updates. Don't let anyone try to tell you this is normal or expected - a 30K swing in SAI from just adding a school code is absolutely not normal!

I'm so sorry this is happening to you! As someone who just went through the FAFSA process myself, I can only imagine how stressful this must be. The difference between -15000 and 14376 is absolutely massive in terms of your aid eligibility. Based on everything everyone has shared here, it's clear this is a widespread system issue and definitely not something you caused. The advice about using the callback service, taking screenshots, and emphasizing the Pell Grant impact when you call sounds spot on. One thing I wanted to add - when you do get this resolved, you might want to consider waiting a bit before adding any more schools to your FAFSA, just in case there are still bugs in their system that could trigger this error again. Maybe add schools one at a time and check your SAI after each addition, at least until they get these synchronization issues fixed. I'm rooting for you to get this sorted out quickly! The fact that others have successfully gotten this exact error corrected gives me hope that FSA will be able to fix yours too. Please keep us updated - I think a lot of students would benefit from hearing how this gets resolved!

Wow, reading through all these responses has been both terrifying and reassuring at the same time! I'm a current college student and the thought of my SAI suddenly jumping by $30K would give me a heart attack too. It sounds like you have an amazing plan thanks to everyone's advice here. The fact that this seems to be a known "system synchronization error" is actually encouraging because it means FSA should have a process for fixing it quickly. One small thing I wanted to add - when you call tomorrow, maybe ask if they can put some kind of alert or flag on your account to prevent this from happening again if you need to make any future changes to your FAFSA. Since this seems to be a recurring bug, having them note your account as having experienced this issue might help prevent it from happening again. Also, I'm really impressed by how well you're handling this stressful situation! Keeping detailed records, researching the problem, and getting advice from this community shows you're being really proactive. That kind of preparation and persistence is exactly what you'll need when dealing with federal agencies. I'm definitely going to bookmark this thread in case I run into any FAFSA issues myself. The collective wisdom here about dealing with FSA is incredible. Best of luck tomorrow - I really hope you get this resolved quickly and can get back to focusing on your education instead of wrestling with broken government systems!