FAFSA Student Aid Index (SAI) 42592 - What does this really mean for financial aid?

That SAI (42592) means your Expected Family Contribution is about $42,592 per year toward your daughter's education costs. With a household income of $115k and two in college, this SAI is actually a bit high, which suggests there might be other factors affecting the calculation (significant assets, retirement accounts, home equity, etc.). With this SAI, your daughter likely won't qualify for need-based federal aid like Pell Grants, but she should still be eligible for: - Unsubsidized federal student loans (up to $5,500 for first-year students) - Potential merit-based scholarships from individual colleges - Work-study in some cases (depends on the school) Have you looked at each school's Cost of Attendance to compare with your SAI?

Had the EXACT same SAI for my son last year and we got NOTHING except loans. Not even work study at most schools. Total joke.

You should definitely appeal this SAI calculation if you have any special circumstances. We had a similar index last year (around 38000), but I was able to get it reconsidered by submitting documentation about medical expenses and a recent job change that wasn't reflected in the tax returns they used. Most schools have a "Professional Judgment" process where the financial aid office can adjust your SAI based on current circumstances.

Make sure ur daughter applies to scholarships outside of FAFSA too!!! My SAI was 39654 and i still got a $20k merit scholarship from my school + some smaller outside scholarships. Don't just rely on fafsa bcuz they seriously aren't fair to middle class families!!!!

Quick clarification on terminology - the SAI (Student Aid Index) replaced the old EFC (Expected Family Contribution) in the 2024-2025 FAFSA rollout. While they're calculated a bit differently, they serve the same purpose. Your SAI of 42592 means the government calculates your family can contribute up to that amount annually. The formula includes: - Parent income and assets (with some protections) - Student income and assets (weighted more heavily) - Family size and number in college One major change with the SAI system is that having multiple students in college doesn't reduce your contribution as much as it did under the old EFC system, which is likely affecting your calculation.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet - you should check if any of her schools use the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA. Many private colleges require both, and CSS calculates need differently. Sometimes families with higher SAI scores can still qualify for institutional aid through the CSS Profile evaluation.

When my sons SAI was high like yours, I spent WEEKS trying to get someone at Financial Aid to explain the calculation to me. Kept calling the 1-800 number and either waiting on hold for hours or getting disconnected. So frustrating!!!

To address some of the questions that have come up: 1. Your daughter should definitely take advantage of her unsubsidized loan eligibility ($5,500/year for freshmen). 2. For appeals: Contact each school's financial aid office directly (not FAFSA). Medical expenses and income changes are valid reasons for appeal. 3. Yes, the CSS Profile does have a fee ($25 for first school, $16 for each additional), but fee waivers are available for eligible families. 4. Merit scholarships will be critical with your SAI. Focus on schools where her GPA/test scores put her in the top 25% of applicants. 5. Don't overlook smaller, less competitive private colleges - they often offer significant tuition discounts to attract strong students.

dont worry about the SAI too much, most of it is BS anyway. my brother had a super high SAI but still got tons of scholarships from his school. just make sure she has good grades and writes good essays for scholarship applications!!

Thank you all so much for the advice! I'm feeling a bit better about our options now. We're going to: 1. Reach out to each school's financial aid office about appeal options based on our medical expenses and my husband's job change 2. Look into the CSS Profile for the private schools 3. Help my daughter apply for more merit scholarships 4. Consider adding a few more schools where she might be more competitive for merit aid It's frustrating that the system seems to penalize middle-class families so much, but at least we have some strategies to work with now.