FAFSA gave me a 40k+ SAI score - did I make huge mistakes on my form?

same happened to my daughter last yr. SAI was like 38k and we freaked out!!! turns out we put our retirement accounts as cash assets which TOTALLY screwed the calculations. check if u included 401k or IRA as liquid assets - ur not supposed to!!

An SAI over 40k doesn't necessarily mean you made a mistake on the FAFSA. The calculation is primarily based on your parents' Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from their tax return, but also factors in assets, number of family members in college, and your household size. If your parents have a combined income above ~$150,000, an SAI in that range might be accurate. Here are specific areas to review: 1. Verify you entered the correct AGI from your parents' tax return (line 11 on Form 1040) 2. Check that you excluded retirement accounts (401k, IRA, pension funds) 3. Confirm you correctly reported real estate (exclude primary residence value) 4. Verify the number of family members in college is accurate 5. Make sure you entered the correct household size

Don't panic yet! Even with high SAI you might still qualify for aid. Schools have their own formulas and many offer institutional aid separately. Plus, high SAI doesn't disqualify you from merit scholarships which aren't need-based. My SAI was 35k but I still got decent packages from some schools. What schools are you applying to?

Common FAFSA mistakes that inflate SAI: • Including retirement accounts as assets (as mentioned above) • Double-counting income (entering the same income in multiple sections) • Incorrectly reporting home equity (primary residence shouldn't be reported) • Misreporting business/farm assets (small family businesses under certain sizes are protected) • Reporting 529 plans incorrectly If you find errors, you'll need to submit a correction. Log in to studentaid.gov, go to your FAFSA form, and select 'Make FAFSA Corrections.

FAFSA is THE WORST!!!! When I called to ask about our high SAI, I was on hold for 3+ HOURS and then got disconnected. Next day, same thing. Finally found Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real FAFSA agent in 20 minutes. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed I had included retirement accounts AND made a decimal error on one entry (put $250,000 instead of $25,000). Fixed it and SAI dropped by almost $12k!

My brother got super high SAI too but his school financial aid office helped him file a special circumstances form because our parents had unusual business expenses that year. Talk to your school's financial aid office - sometimes they can help you get more aid even with high SAI!

Everyone here thinks high SAI means no aid, but don't forget about Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Parent PLUS loans which are available regardless of your SAI. Not ideal since they're loans, but better than nothing if you need the money for school.

Also check if you accidentally entered income or assets in the wrong sections. My friend entered her parents' income as her own student income AND as parent income. Doubled everything and made their SAI crazy high!

After you review and correct any errors, remember to notify all the schools on your FAFSA list about the corrections. Sometimes they don't automatically get updated SAI information in a timely manner. A quick email to each financial aid office can ensure they're working with your current information.