FAFSA showing 'Cannot Calculate SAI' after parents signed - what's happening?

This is actually pretty common with the new FAFSA system. The 'Cannot Calculate SAI' message typically appears when there's a temporary processing delay. After you and your husband signed, the system needs time to finalize all the information and calculate the Student Aid Index. Usually, this resolves within 3-5 days without you needing to do anything. However, double-check that all sections of the application show complete (green checkmarks on every section). If any sections show incomplete, you'll need to go back and finish those.

had the exact same issue last week!! took about 4 days then it showed his SAI on the dashboard. dont worry about it

While what others have said about waiting is often true, there are some specific reasons why the "Cannot Calculate SAI" message appears that might need your attention: 1. Incomplete transfer of tax information from the IRS (even if you used the Data Retrieval Tool) 2. Conflicting information between parent and student sections 3. Missing signatures (though this doesn't sound like your issue) 4. System processing delay during high-volume periods If it doesn't resolve in 7 days, you should contact Federal Student Aid directly. Be prepared with your son's FSA ID and the confirmation number from the FAFSA submission.

THE SAME EXACT THING happened to my daughter!!! We submitted everything correctly, both parents signed, and got that stupid "Cannot Calculate SAI" message. I called the Federal Student Aid number EIGHT TIMES and kept getting disconnected or waiting forever. When I finally got through after THREE DAYS of trying, they told me there was a glitch in the system affecting lots of people and that we needed to wait 7-10 business days. So frustrating! The colleges are asking for her SAI score and we can't even get it!!!

I've been dealing with FAFSA issues for the past month and found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual FSA agent in under 25 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours or getting disconnected. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Basically saved my sanity when we had verification issues with our 'Cannot Calculate SAI' problem that didn't resolve on its own after 2 weeks. Just putting it out there since calling FSA directly can be such a nightmare right now.

This happened with my son's FAFSA too. It turned out we had a small discrepancy between what we reported as income and what the IRS Data Retrieval Tool imported. Even though we used the tool, something didn't sync properly. After waiting 2 weeks with no change, I finally called FSA (took forever to get through) and they told me we needed to correct our AGI on one section. Once we fixed that, the SAI calculated within 48 hours. One thing I learned: print or save a PDF copy of your completed FAFSA right after submission. That way if you need to make corrections, you have all the original info.

Quick update for everyone in this thread - the Department of Education just announced they're experiencing higher than normal delays with SAI calculations due to verification backlogs. They're saying allow up to 10 business days for processing, even when all information appears correct. They've also advised schools to extend their priority financial aid deadlines accordingly.

btw make sure u tell ur son to check his email everyday!! my SAI came through but the email went to spam folder and i almost missed a deadline bc of it!!!

UPDATE: Our SAI finally calculated! It took exactly 6 days, and we didn't have to do anything. My son got an email saying his FAFSA was processed successfully. Thanks everyone for your help and reassurance. For anyone else seeing this message, it looks like patience is really the key (though I'm glad I knew some backup options if it hadn't resolved).

As someone who just went through this process with my daughter, I wanted to share what I learned about the "Cannot Calculate SAI" message. First, don't panic - it's unfortunately very common this year! Here's what I found helpful: 1) Check your FAFSA dashboard every few days rather than obsessively refreshing daily, 2) Make sure your son has notifications turned on for his FSA account AND checks spam folders, 3) If it goes beyond 10 business days, that's when you should definitely call for help. One thing that really helped us was setting up a simple spreadsheet to track submission dates and follow-up deadlines for each school. It made the waiting period feel more manageable. Hope your son's SAI comes through soon!

I'm a new parent going through this FAFSA process for the first time and this thread has been incredibly reassuring! My daughter just submitted her application yesterday and we're already seeing the "Cannot Calculate SAI" message. Reading everyone's experiences here makes me feel so much better about waiting it out rather than immediately assuming we did something wrong. Quick question though - should we be doing anything proactive while we wait, like checking with her college's financial aid office to let them know about the delay? Or is it better to just wait until the SAI comes through before contacting anyone?

Going through the exact same thing right now with my twin daughters! Both submitted their FAFSAs last week and we're seeing "Cannot Calculate SAI" on both applications despite everything looking complete. It's such a relief to read this thread and know we're not alone. The new FAFSA system seems to have so many processing hiccups this year. One thing I wanted to add for other parents - I found it helpful to screenshot the "Submitted" status page as proof of on-time submission, just in case any of their colleges need documentation about the delay. Also keeping a simple log of when we submitted vs when (hopefully!) the SAI gets calculated so we have a timeline if we need to call for help. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and timelines - it's making this waiting period much more manageable!