FAFSA suddenly denied Pell Grant despite similar income - SAI calculator vs. actual results don't match

Same exact thing happened to me with my daughter!! Her SAI went from qualifying for full Pell last year to nothing this year even tho I only made like $5k more. The system is rigged I swear.

There were major changes to the FAFSA formula for 2025-2026. The old EFC was replaced with the SAI, and they modified several calculations, particularly how they assess income protection allowances and asset contributions. A few possibilities for the discrepancy: 1. The SAI calculator you used might not have been fully updated with the latest formula changes 2. You might have entered something differently on the actual FAFSA compared to the calculator 3. There could be an issue with how contributions from multiple household members were calculated I'd recommend checking specifically if you properly reported all asset information, as that's often where discrepancies occur. Also verify your household size matches what you used in the calculator.

they changed how they count siblings in college too that might b why ur sons not getting pell now

I've been helping families navigate FAFSA for years, and this year has been CHAOS with the new formula. Here's what likely happened: the SAI calculator you used wasn't the official one, or was based on the old formula. Many third-party calculators haven't updated to the new methodology. Two specific changes that might have affected you: 1. The income protection allowance decreased for certain family configurations 2. The assessment rate on assets above the protection allowance increased Also, the Pell eligibility thresholds themselves changed. An SAI that qualified last year might not qualify this year, even with the exact same financial information.

The exact same thing happened to us! After trying for WEEKS to reach someone at Federal Student Aid, I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through to an agent in 15 minutes. They explained that in our case, the calculator I used wasn't accounting for some retirement assets that DO count in the new formula. The agent walked me through each calculation to show exactly where the discrepancy was. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Saved me hours of frustration and we're now filing an appeal with our school's financial aid office.

It's because the FAFSA's new formula is GARBAGE. They made it "simpler" but actually just screwed over a ton of lower-income families. My daughter lost her Pell too, and the financial aid guy at her school literally told me there's been a huge increase in students losing eligibility. Call your school's financial aid office directly - they sometimes have institutional funds they can use to make up the difference.

Have you checked if there were any changes to your retirement contributions or other pre-tax deductions between the two tax years? I discovered that my increased 401k contributions actually affected our SAI calculation because the new formula treats retirement contributions differently than the old one did. It's really technical but worth investigating if you've increased any pre-tax deductions.

Based on your responses, I'm almost certain I know what happened. The new SAI formula treats retirement accounts differently than the old EFC formula did. Specifically: 1. The asset protection allowance was significantly reduced 2. Even modest retirement accounts now have a much bigger impact on aid eligibility 3. The income protection allowance was adjusted in ways that particularly affect single-parent households I recommend you: 1. Request a professional judgment review from your son's school's financial aid office 2. Provide documentation showing the minimal change in your actual income 3. Emphasize that this is your son's senior year and he's had consistent Pell eligibility previously 4. Ask specifically if they have institutional funds to cover the Pell gap Many schools are aware of this issue and have set aside funds to address exactly this situation.

my cousins school gave her emergency aid when she lost her pell maybe try that

One last thing to check - did you file as head of household on your taxes? The new FAFSA formula treats HOH filing status differently than before. Also, did your son have any income that might have been reported differently? Even a small student job can have a surprisingly large impact on the SAI calculation now.

I'm new to this community but dealing with a very similar situation! My daughter also lost her Pell Grant eligibility this year despite our income only increasing slightly. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea about the major formula changes or how differently they're treating retirement accounts and student income now. The most frustrating part is that we planned our finances around her having Pell Grant support for her final year, just like you did. I'm definitely going to try calling the financial aid office for a professional judgment review based on the advice here. Has anyone successfully gotten their Pell eligibility restored through the appeal process? I'd love to hear if any of these strategies actually worked for getting the aid back.

I'm also new here but unfortunately dealing with this exact nightmare! My son is a junior and we just got his FAFSA results - went from receiving the full Pell Grant for two years to absolutely nothing, even though my income only went up about $3,000. Like everyone else here, the SAI calculator showed he'd still qualify, but the actual result was way higher. What's really scary is reading that they changed how student income is assessed - my son had his first real summer job last year making about $5,500, and from what @Zachary Hughes explained, that alone might have been enough to kill his eligibility. It's insane that a student working to help pay for college actually hurts their financial aid! I'm definitely going to call the financial aid office for a professional judgment review. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it helps to know we're not alone in this mess, even though it's terrifying how many families are getting blindsided by these formula changes.

I'm new to this community but experiencing the exact same devastating situation! My daughter lost her Pell Grant for 2025-2026 despite our income barely changing - I made about $4,000 more than last year but we're still well under $50K total. She's been receiving Pell for her first two years of college and we absolutely counted on it for her junior year. What's particularly frustrating is that I used what I thought was the official SAI calculator and it showed she'd still qualify, but then the actual FAFSA results came back way higher. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly eye-opening - I had no idea about the major formula changes or how they're now treating retirement accounts and student income so differently. My daughter also had a summer job last year (her first real job, making about $3,800) and from what I'm learning here, that might have been a major factor. It's absolutely backwards that a student working to help pay for college actually hurts their financial aid eligibility! I'm definitely going to call her school's financial aid office tomorrow to request a professional judgment review based on all the excellent advice shared here. Thank you everyone for being so helpful - it's both comforting and terrifying to see how many families are dealing with this same nightmare due to these formula changes.

I'm new to this community but unfortunately joining because I'm dealing with this exact same nightmare! My son also lost his Pell Grant eligibility for 2025-2026 despite our income only increasing by about $3,500. He's been receiving Pell for his first three years and we're panicking about how to cover his senior year costs. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly helpful but also terrifying to see how widespread this issue is. Like many of you, I used the SAI calculator which showed he'd still qualify, but the actual FAFSA results came back much higher. My son also worked his first summer job last year (about $4,800), and based on what @Zachary Hughes explained about how the new formula treats student income, that probably contributed significantly to pushing us over the threshold. I'm definitely going to call the financial aid office tomorrow to request a professional judgment review and ask about emergency funds. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and advice - it's both comforting to know we're not alone and helpful to have concrete steps to take. I'll update everyone on how the appeal process goes!

I'm also new to this community and dealing with the exact same devastating situation! My daughter lost her Pell Grant eligibility for 2025-2026 even though our family income only increased by about $2,800 from the previous year. She's been receiving Pell for her first two years and we're absolutely panicking about covering her junior year costs. Like so many others here, I used the SAI calculator beforehand and it showed she would still qualify, but then the actual FAFSA results came back significantly higher. My daughter also worked her first part-time job during the school year, earning about $3,200, and based on what I'm reading here about how the new formula treats student income, that might have been enough to push us over the threshold. It's absolutely infuriating that a student working to help pay for college is actually penalized in their financial aid calculations! The whole system seems backwards. I'm definitely going to call her financial aid office first thing Monday morning to request a professional judgment review and ask specifically about emergency funds for students affected by these formula changes. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and providing such detailed advice - it gives me hope that there might be a way to resolve this nightmare. I'll make sure to update everyone on how the appeal process goes!