FAFSA silently made corrections to my application - SAI changed without notification
Just a heads up to everyone - I logged into my studentaid.gov account this weekend after getting a random email saying they 'pulled my info again' (whatever that means). Turns out FAFSA made corrections to my application WITHOUT sending me any notification that corrections were needed! My SAI number changed slightly, though unfortunately not enough to help with my aid packages. I've already received letters from schools based on my previous SAI. Has anyone else experienced FAFSA making silent corrections? Should I be contacting the schools to let them know about this change? I'm worried this might affect my financial aid packages even though the change was small.
17 comments
Join the conversation
ApolloJackson
This happened to me too! The Department of Education is doing random verification pulls this year even for people who weren't initially flagged. My SAI changed by about $340, which didn't impact my Pell Grant eligibility but did affect my subsidized loan amount. You should definitely notify your schools - even small SAI changes can impact institutional aid at some universities. Better to be proactive than have them discover the discrepancy later.
0 coins
Grace Patel
•Thanks for the advice! Did you just email the financial aid offices, or is there a specific process I should follow to notify them about the SAI change?
0 coins
Isabella Russo
ya my sister had this happen 2 her last week... the difference was like $1200 on her SAI and now shes freaking out cuz she already accepted her aid package from her top school. its so stupid they dont notify u about this stuff!!
0 coins
Rajiv Kumar
•This is why the FAFSA system is completely broken. They make these random "corrections" without any transparency, then expect students to somehow know about them. I had a similar issue last year and nearly lost my housing grant because of it. The whole system needs an overhaul.
0 coins
Aria Washington
wait do we have to keep checking our fafsa accounts even after getting award letters?? nobody told me that!!
0 coins
Liam O'Reilly
•Yes, it's always a good idea to periodically check your FAFSA status throughout the year. The Department of Education can select applications for verification or make corrections at any time, even months after initial submission. This is especially important for the 2024-2025 aid year with all the FAFSA Simplification Act changes still being implemented.
0 coins
Chloe Delgado
I experienced something similar last month. The FSA made corrections to my W-2 information that I had manually entered. Apparently they're cross-referencing with IRS data more actively this year. The most frustrating part was trying to reach someone at Federal Student Aid to explain WHY they made the changes. I spent 3 hours on hold before getting disconnected. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual FSA agent. They have this service where they wait on hold for you and call when an agent is on the line. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent explained that they're doing automated verification checks on random applications. She confirmed I needed to notify my schools about the SAI change, which I did, and they adjusted my aid packages accordingly.
0 coins
Ava Harris
•does that claimyr thing actually work? i tried calling fsa like 5 times this month and never got through
0 coins
Liam O'Reilly
To address the original question: Yes, you absolutely should notify all schools that received your FAFSA about the SAI change. Here's why: 1. Some institutions have specific SAI cutoffs for certain institutional grants and scholarships 2. Even small SAI changes can affect packaging methodology at some schools 3. If the schools discover the discrepancy during reconciliation, it could delay your aid disbursement Contact each school's financial aid office via email with: - Your name and student ID - Original SAI number - New SAI number - Date you discovered the change Request written confirmation that they've updated your file. Most schools will simply note the change and inform you if it affects your package.
0 coins
Grace Patel
•Thank you for this detailed explanation! I'll email all my schools today with the information you suggested. Really hoping this doesn't affect my housing grant since I'm already cutting it close with expenses.
0 coins
Rajiv Kumar
This is EXACTLY why I tell everyone to save PDF copies of EVERYTHING related to FAFSA! Screenshots of your SAI, confirmation emails, award letters - all of it. The Department of Education constantly makes these "silent corrections" and then schools act like YOU made a mistake when the numbers don't match. I've been fighting with my daughter's university for 3 weeks because her SAI changed by $890 and now they're trying to reduce her institutional scholarship!
0 coins
ApolloJackson
•That's such good advice about saving PDFs. I would also recommend keeping a log of every communication with financial aid offices - date, time, who you spoke with, and what was discussed. It's saved me multiple times when there were discrepancies.
0 coins
Ava Harris
is this like when they do verification? my cousins fafsa got verified and they had to send in all kinds of extra tax stuff
0 coins
Liam O'Reilly
•It's similar but not exactly the same. Verification requires you to submit additional documentation to confirm your information is accurate. What's happening to the original poster is more like a background verification where the Department of Education is cross-checking already submitted information against other government databases and making corrections if they find discrepancies. Both processes can result in SAI changes, but traditional verification requires active participation from the student.
0 coins
Grace Patel
Update: I emailed all my schools about the SAI change. Two have already responded saying the difference was too small to affect my aid package (phew!). Still waiting to hear from the other three. I also tried calling FSA to understand why they made these changes but couldn't get through after waiting 45 minutes. Might try that Claimyr service somebody mentioned if I don't have any luck tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your help!
0 coins
Chloe Delgado
•Glad to hear most of your schools said it won't affect your aid! When you do talk to FSA, make sure to ask them to explain specifically what data elements were changed. They should be able to tell you exactly what numbers were adjusted and why. This information can be helpful if you need to appeal your aid at any point.
0 coins
Savannah Vin
This is so frustrating but unfortunately becoming more common this year! I'm a college senior and this exact same thing happened to me in February. My SAI went up by about $200 and I only found out because I randomly logged in to check something else. No email, no notification - nothing! What's really annoying is that some schools have already started disbursing aid for next semester based on the original numbers. I ended up having to contact 4 different financial aid offices and one of them actually had to recall and reprocess my entire aid package because they have strict SAI thresholds for their need-based grants. Pro tip: Set a calendar reminder to check your FAFSA account at least once a month. I learned this the hard way but it's apparently necessary now with all these "background verification" processes they're doing.
0 coins