FAFSA reprocessed after a month - why did they change my SAI with 2 kids in college?

The same thing happened to me! My initial processing was on March 8th and then reprocessed April 22nd. My SAI actually went DOWN by about $3,800, which I'm not complaining about, but it's creating confusion with my daughter's school. The financial aid office told me they're seeing this with lots of families this year because of the FAFSA Simplification Act implementation issues. Apparently, they're constantly making corrections to the calculation formula as they find errors in the system. If your SAI changed dramatically, you should contact each college's financial aid office directly and ask them if they'll reconsider the aid package based on the updated information.

omg this whole new fafsa is such a nightmare!!! my sister is starting college this fall and we've been dealing with glitches for MONTHS. they changed our SAI 3 different times!!!!

This is actually a known issue with the new FAFSA implementation. The Department of Education has been making ongoing adjustments to the SAI formula throughout the processing cycle. The most significant change affected calculations for families with multiple students in college simultaneously. In previous years, having multiple students gave families a significant advantage in the EFC calculation by essentially dividing the family contribution among all enrolled students. The new SAI system was supposed to eliminate this adjustment entirely, but after public feedback, they partially restored some benefits for multi-student families. You should definitely contact your financial aid offices immediately. While they aren't obligated to use the updated calculation, many schools are reviewing cases individually, especially if the change significantly impacts affordability.

wait so does this mean we should wait longer before accepting any financial aid packages? my son's FAFSA was processed like 3 weeks ago but now I'm worried it'll change too

This happened to us too, and trying to get answers from FSA has been a nightmare. I spent 3 hours on hold last week trying to understand why our application was reprocessed and if it would happen again. Finally gave up after being disconnected twice. The whole system is painfully broken this year. I eventually used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual human at the Federal Student Aid helpline. They have this service where they wait on hold for you and then call when an agent is ready to talk. Saved me hours of frustration. There's a demo video here if you're interested: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent explained that the Department is making ongoing corrections to calculation errors, especially for families with multiple students in college. They couldn't guarantee it won't happen again, but did say most of the major formula adjustments have been completed.

Lol welcome to the wonderful world of FAFSA 2.0! What a disaster this rollout has been. My daughter's application was "processed" FOUR different times between January and April. Each time with a different SAI amount. The financial aid offices are just as confused as we are.

I work in a college financial aid office, and I can tell you we're seeing this constantly with the new system. Here's what's happening behind the scenes: 1. The ED (Education Department) is fixing bugs in the calculation system in real-time 2. When they find and fix an error, applications that were affected get automatically reprocessed 3. The multiple students in college issue has been particularly problematic Most institutions are aware of this and have policies in place. At our school, we're honoring the most advantageous SAI for the student if reprocessing occurs after an initial aid package was offered. However, this varies by institution. I recommend: - Print/save PDF copies of BOTH SAI calculations immediately - Contact financial aid offices with documentation of both results - Ask specifically if they have a "most favorable SAI" policy for reprocessed FAFSAs - Get any agreements in writing (email is fine) This has been the most challenging FAFSA cycle in my 15 years in financial aid. Rest assured that most schools want to help families navigate this mess.

my cousin told me that if u call financial aid office and cry they'll give u more money lol might be worth a try

UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at Federal Student Aid today. The rep confirmed they did a large batch of reprocessing in late April that affected families with multiple students in college. Apparently, the original March processing used an incorrect formula that wasn't giving proper weight to having multiple students enrolled. I checked both calculations carefully, and while our SAI did increase by $4,200, it's still significantly lower than what we would have had under the old EFC system. The rep suggested contacting each school individually since they all handle reprocessing differently. Three of the four schools my daughter was considering have agreed to honor the original (lower) SAI calculation since that's what her initial aid package was based on. Still waiting to hear from the fourth. What a mess this whole system has been!

I'm dealing with something similar! My FAFSA was processed in mid-March and then suddenly reprocessed last week without any warning. I have twins starting college this fall, so I'm especially worried about how this affects the multiple-student calculation. Reading through all these comments is both reassuring and terrifying - it sounds like this is happening to lots of families, but the outcomes are so inconsistent. I'm definitely going to follow the advice here about downloading both SAI reports and contacting each school directly. Has anyone had experience with schools that initially said they wouldn't adjust but then changed their mind after you provided more documentation? I'm trying to figure out if it's worth appealing if the first response is negative.

I'm a newcomer here but going through the exact same nightmare! My FAFSA was processed in early March and then mysteriously reprocessed two weeks ago. I have one child currently in college and another starting this fall, so reading about these multiple-student calculation issues has me really concerned. The lack of communication from the Department of Education is absolutely maddening - how are families supposed to make informed decisions about college when the numbers keep changing without explanation? I'm going to try the Claimyr service that Zane mentioned to actually get through to someone who can explain what happened to our application. This whole "simplified" FAFSA has been anything but simple! Thank you all for sharing your experiences - at least now I know we're not alone in this chaos.