FAFSA SAI tripled when second kid started college - why did multiple students increase our contribution?

the new FAFSA doesn't divide the contribution by number of students in college anymore...that changed with the FAFSA simplification. its actually a huge problem for families with multiple kids

Mine did the exact same thing! First kid SAI was 2100, second kid started and jumped to 6800. Called financial aid office and they just said "new FAFSA formula, nothing we can do" 🤬

This is actually one of the biggest changes in the new FAFSA. Under the previous system, your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) was divided by the number of college students in your household. So if your EFC was $10,000 with one student, it would become $5,000 per student with two students. With the 2024-2025 FAFSA and beyond, the Student Aid Index (SAI) is NOT divided by the number of students. Each student receives the same SAI regardless of siblings in college. Congress removed this adjustment when they passed the FAFSA Simplification Act. For families with multiple students, this is often resulting in significantly less aid than before. Your numbers (1842 to 7345) suggest other factors might also be at play though, as that's more than just losing the sibling discount.

The massive jump in your SAI isn't just from losing the sibling discount - it's also affected by: 1. Different tax years being used (2022 taxes for 2024-2025 FAFSA vs 2023 taxes for 2025-2026) 2. Updates to the SAI formula tables and allowances for the new year 3. Potential changes in your assets between applications 4. The treatment of small business and farm assets changed in the new formula 5. Different income protection allowances You should check if your income increased between 2022 and 2023 tax years. Even a moderate increase could significantly impact your SAI under the new formula. Also verify that all questions about assets were answered the same way on both applications.

Im in the same boat!!! Our SAI went from 2240 to 9150 with my second kid starting college!!!!! I sent appeals to both schools already. Called FAFSA office for 3 days straight but couldn't get through to anyone. Just constant busy signals and disconnects. This is absolute BS and I'm FURIOUS about it.

I work in a financial aid office, and this is something we're seeing with many families this year. The removal of the multiple-student discount was a significant change that's causing substantial confusion. What's crucial to understand is that while the FAFSA no longer adjusts for multiple students, many colleges and universities DO still consider this in their institutional aid calculations. When you get your financial aid packages, you might find the schools have added additional institutional grants to help offset this issue. I strongly recommend: 1. File a special circumstances appeal with BOTH schools' financial aid offices 2. Be specific about having multiple students and the dramatic increase in your SAI 3. Provide documentation showing both students' enrollment 4. Calculate what your contribution would have been under the old formula as a reference point Many schools have created special funds specifically to address this issue for the 2025-2026 year since they recognize the hardship it's creating.

the whole fafsa system is RIGGED against middle class families!!! first they take away the sibling discount then they lower the income protection allowance and now we're supposed to go into massive debt just to give our kids an education??? this country is broken

did u try the college financial aid calculator things? some skools have them on there websites to estimate wut aid u'll get

One more important point - while your official SAI is higher, colleges with institutional aid often have their own formula that still considers multiple students. For example, many private colleges use the CSS Profile, which still includes a multiple student discount in their institutional methodology. If your children are applying to schools that use the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA, make sure to complete that as well. It might result in better institutional aid packages even if federal aid is reduced. Also, some public universities have created special scholarship funds specifically to address this issue for the 2025-2026 academic year. Ask specifically about "multiple student household grants" or "sibling enrollment scholarships" when talking to financial aid offices.

my cousins friend said they just put down they had less money and got more aid lol

I'm dealing with this exact same situation and it's absolutely devastating for our family budget. We went from an EFC of around $3,200 with our first child to an SAI of $8,900 when our second started college this year. What's particularly frustrating is that nobody warned us about this change when we were doing college planning. We budgeted based on the assumption that having two kids in college would split our contribution, not nearly triple it per student. I've started reaching out to both schools' financial aid offices, and one admissions counselor mentioned they're seeing this issue with almost every multiple-student family this year. She said to specifically mention "FAFSA Simplification Act impact" in any appeals because they've been instructed to flag these cases. Has anyone had success with the appeals process yet? I'm wondering if it's worth hiring a financial aid consultant at this point because we're looking at potentially $40K+ more in costs than we planned for.

I'm so sorry you're going through this too! We're in exactly the same boat and it's been such a shock. I hadn't heard about mentioning the "FAFSA Simplification Act impact" specifically - that's really helpful advice. Regarding the financial aid consultant, I'm wondering the same thing. Part of me thinks it might be worth it since we're talking about such large amounts of money, but I'm also hesitant to spend more when we're already stretched thin. Have you gotten any estimates on what consultants charge for this kind of appeal assistance? I'm planning to contact both schools this week using the language suggested by @Ravi Choudhury about "multiple student household adjustment." Hopefully between all of us sharing what works, we can figure out the best approach to get some relief from this mess.

This is such a helpful thread and I'm grateful to find others dealing with this same shocking situation. My family is facing a similar jump - our SAI went from $1,950 to $6,400 when our second child started college this fall. I wanted to share something that might help others: I called my state's Department of Higher Education office yesterday and they confirmed they're tracking this issue statewide. The representative said they're compiling data on how many families are affected and potentially advocating for state-level supplemental aid programs to help offset this federal change. She suggested that families document their situation and contact both their state education department AND their federal representatives. The more data points they have showing the impact, the stronger case they can make for either policy changes or emergency funding. I'm also planning to reach out to local news outlets about this. It seems like a story that affects thousands of families but isn't getting much media attention. Maybe if we can get some coverage, it will put pressure on colleges and policymakers to address this crisis more seriously. Has anyone else tried contacting their state education department or local representatives about this issue?

This thread has been incredibly eye-opening and helpful! I'm a parent with one child currently a junior in high school and another who will be starting college in 2026, so I'm trying to get ahead of this issue before it hits us. From everything I'm reading here, it sounds like the key strategies are: 1. Contact both schools immediately when the second child applies to alert them to the multiple student situation 2. File formal appeals using specific language like "multiple student household adjustment" and "FAFSA Simplification Act impact" 3. Look into schools that use CSS Profile since they may still offer sibling discounts through institutional aid 4. Contact state education departments and representatives to advocate for policy changes 5. Ask specifically about special funds schools may have created to address this issue I'm also wondering - for those of you who have been through this, would you recommend having the financial aid conversation with colleges BEFORE the second child commits/enrolls? It seems like it might be better to know what kind of aid to expect rather than getting surprised after enrollment decisions are made. Thank you to everyone sharing their experiences and advice. This is exactly the kind of information families need to plan properly for these changes!

I'm so grateful I found this discussion! As a newcomer here but unfortunately not new to this exact crisis, I wanted to share that we're experiencing the same devastating increase. Our SAI jumped from $2,400 with our first child to $8,100 when our second started college this fall - more than tripling our expected contribution right when we need to pay TWO tuitions. What's been most helpful for us so far is following the advice shared here about being very specific in communications with financial aid offices. I used the exact phrases "multiple student household adjustment" and "FAFSA Simplification Act impact" when I emailed both schools last week, and I actually got responses within 2 days asking for additional documentation. That's faster than I expected based on horror stories I'd heard about financial aid responsiveness. I'm also documenting everything for a potential media story - keeping screenshots of our FAFSA results, school communications, and calculating exactly what we would have paid under the old EFC system versus what we're now expected to pay. If enough of us can get this story out there, maybe we can create enough pressure for either emergency institutional funding or policy changes for next year's families. Has anyone had success getting local news outlets interested in covering this story? It seems like the kind of issue that affects thousands of families but isn't getting nearly enough public attention.

As someone new to this community but unfortunately not new to this devastating situation, I wanted to thank everyone for sharing their experiences and advice. We're facing the exact same crisis - our SAI went from $2,100 with our first child to $7,200 when our second started college this year. The shock has been overwhelming, especially since we had budgeted based on the old system where having two in college would split our contribution. I've been following all the excellent advice shared here, particularly from @Ravi Choudhury and @GalaxyGlider about using specific language in appeals. I contacted both schools yesterday using phrases like "multiple student household adjustment" and "FAFSA Simplification Act impact," and I'm hopeful to hear back soon. What I'm curious about is whether anyone has tracked which types of schools (public vs private, those using CSS Profile vs FAFSA only) are being more responsive to these appeals? We have one child at a state university and another starting at a private college, so I'm wondering if we might see different levels of institutional support between the two. Also, has anyone found success appealing mid-year, or is it better to wait until next year's FAFSA cycle? We're trying to figure out the best timing for maximum impact on our aid packages.

I'm also new to this community but dealing with this exact same devastating situation. Our SAI jumped from $1,850 to $6,950 when our second child started college this fall - nearly quadrupling our expected contribution right when we need to cover two tuitions! Reading through all these experiences has been both heartbreaking and incredibly helpful. It's clear this is affecting thousands of families who had no warning about this massive change. I've already started implementing the strategies shared here - contacted both schools using the specific language about "FAFSA Simplification Act impact" and "multiple student household adjustment" that @Ravi Choudhury suggested. One thing I wanted to add that might help others: when I called our state's financial aid hotline, they mentioned that some schools are quietly creating "transition funds" specifically for this issue but aren't publicizing them widely. They suggested being very direct and asking financial aid offices: "Do you have any special funding available for families affected by the removal of the multiple student discount in the new FAFSA formula?" I'm also documenting everything for a potential story with our local news station. The more families that speak up about this crisis, the better chance we have of getting either emergency institutional funding or policy changes. This impacts middle-class families the hardest - we make too much for significant need-based aid but nowhere near enough to easily afford multiple full-price tuitions. Thank you to everyone sharing their experiences and advice. It's giving me hope that we can navigate this disaster together!

I'm also new to this community and unfortunately facing this exact same devastating situation. Our SAI jumped from $2,150 to $7,800 when our second child started college this fall - more than tripling what we expected to pay right when we need to cover TWO tuitions. Thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences and strategies here. I had no idea about using specific phrases like "FAFSA Simplification Act impact" and "multiple student household adjustment" when contacting schools, or asking directly about "transition funds" for families affected by this change. This thread has been incredibly valuable in helping me understand how to navigate this crisis. I'm planning to contact both of our schools this week using all the language and approaches shared here. I'm also going to reach out to our local newspaper and state representatives about this issue. It seems like the more families that speak up, the better chance we have of getting either emergency institutional funding or policy changes to help current families and prevent future ones from being blindsided like we were. This truly feels like a policy disaster that's hitting middle-class families the hardest. We planned and saved based on the assumption that having multiple kids in college would reduce our per-student contribution, not nearly quadruple it. The lack of advance warning makes it even more frustrating - families deserve time to plan for such massive changes to college affordability.