Is SAI of 6941 too high for Pell Grant eligibility? FAFSA results confusion

A SAI of 6941 is actually not terrible. Under the new FAFSA formula, the SAI (Student Aid Index) replaced the old EFC, but the scales are different. With your SAI, you'll likely still qualify for some federal aid, though probably not the maximum Pell Grant amount. The full Pell Grant usually goes to students with a SAI of 0, but partial Pell Grants can extend to students with SAIs up to around 6000-7000, depending on the year's funding. With your parents' income and having a sibling in college, your SAI actually makes sense. State schools will definitely still consider you for institutional aid - the SAI is just one factor they look at. Make sure you've also completed any state-specific financial aid applications!

SAI of 6941? Bro ur probably not gonna get much. My cousin had an SAI of like 4500 and only got a tiny bit of aid. The whole systems messed up now with the new FAFSA. Good luck tho 🤷‍♂️

Everyone needs to stop comparing the old EFC to the new SAI - they are COMPLETELY different calculations! Your 6941 SAI is not directly comparable to your 2500 EFC from last year. The formulas changed significantly. With a SAI of 6941, you're likely at the upper edge of partial Pell Grant eligibility. For 2025-2026, I believe the cutoff is around 7000-7500 for any Pell funding, though Congress can change this. The maximum Pell for 2025-2026 is projected to be around $7,400 for students with a SAI of 0. Your sibling in college no longer provides the same benefit in the formula it used to - that's one big reason your number might seem higher. But don't panic! State schools absolutely still provide institutional aid for SAIs in your range, especially with your family income at $61K.

You should definitely still apply to all the schools you're interested in regardless of your SAI. I had an SAI of 8200 last year and still got decent financial aid packages from state schools - not Pell Grants, but institutional scholarships and work-study options. Each school handles their financial aid differently. Also, don't forget to file your state financial aid application (if your state has one). Sometimes state grants have different formulas than federal aid.

Just wanted to add that if there have been any major changes to your family's financial situation since you filed your FAFSA, you can submit an appeal directly to your schools' financial aid offices. Job loss, medical expenses, death in the family, etc. can all be grounds for a professional judgment review that might lower your SAI. Each school handles these differently though.

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to a Federal Student Aid agent? I was in the same boat - kept getting disconnected when calling about my SAI. Claimyr connected me to an actual person in about 20 minutes who explained exactly what my SAI meant for Pell eligibility. It's at claimyr.com and they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Totally worth it to get clear answers directly from FSA about your specific situation.

To answer your question about roughly how much Pell you might receive with a 6941 SAI: it's probably going to be a smaller amount, maybe in the $1,000-$2,000 range for the year. It scales down as your SAI increases, with the maximum going to those with a 0 SAI. One thing to note - many state universities have their own institutional grants that kick in when Pell starts to phase out. So even if your Pell amount is small, you might get other grants from the schools themselves. This is why it's important to compare your complete financial aid packages from each school rather than just focusing on your SAI number.

Just to clarify something important about SAI that's confusing a lot of people: unlike the old EFC system, having multiple family members in college doesn't reduce each person's SAI as significantly. That's a major change in the new FAFSA. So if your previous EFC was 2500 with two in college, that might translate roughly to a 5000 EFC for one student. Comparing that to your current 6941 SAI isn't quite as dramatic a jump as it first appears, especially with all the formula changes. Based on your family income of $61K, an SAI around 7000 actually makes sense. I wouldn't bother with an appeal unless there are special circumstances not reflected in your FAFSA.

Hey Paolo! I'm in a similar situation with the new FAFSA changes - it's definitely confusing at first. Your SAI of 6941 actually puts you in a decent position for aid. I had a SAI of around 6500 last year and still received partial Pell Grant funding plus some state grants. One thing that helped me was creating a spreadsheet to track all the different aid packages from schools I applied to. Some state schools were way more generous with institutional aid than others, even with the same SAI. Also, don't forget to check if your state has additional grant programs - many have income thresholds that are more generous than federal Pell eligibility. The key is applying broadly and not getting too hung up on that one SAI number. Financial aid offices look at the whole picture, not just your index score!

Don't stress too much about the SAI number! I went through this exact same panic last year when the new FAFSA rolled out. With your family income at $61K and a SAI of 6941, you're definitely still in the running for aid - just maybe not the maximum amounts. What really helped me was understanding that each school handles aid differently. I had friends with similar SAIs who got vastly different packages depending on where they applied. Some state schools were surprisingly generous with their own institutional grants, while others stuck closer to just federal aid. Also, make sure you're looking into your state's financial aid programs if you haven't already. Many states have grant programs with different eligibility requirements than federal Pell, and some are pretty generous for families in your income range. The whole system is definitely confusing with all the changes, but you're not out of options by any means!