Negative SAI (-1500) but schools only offering federal aid packages - is this normal?

A negative SAI is definitely good (-1500 means your family has high financial need), but it doesn't automatically guarantee institutional aid. Each college has their own funding formulas and policies for distributing their own money. Some schools are \

Thank you for explaining this. I didn't realize the negative SAI mainly impacts federal aid. None of these schools advertise meeting 100% need (they're mid-tier state schools). I guess I just assumed wrong about how the process works. Should we call the financial aid offices to ask if there are additional institutional funds we might qualify for?

we went thru this last yr with my son. negative SAI too but most schools only gave the federal stuff. our stats we're REALLY good and we still didnt get institutional aid from most places. its just how it is now, colleges are broke too lol

That's disappointing to hear but helpful to know we're not alone. Did you end up finding any schools that gave more than just the federal package?

yea actually 1 private college gave us a $23k merit scholarship that made it cheaper than our state school! they didnt mention it in the first letter tho, it came 2 weeks later. so maybe wait a bit?

As a financial aid counselor, I can tell you that your negative SAI (-1500) primarily determines your federal aid eligibility, which is why you're seeing the Pell Grant and federal work-study in your packages. Institutional aid is entirely separate and is determined by each college's own policies and available funding.\n\nWhat you're experiencing is actually quite common. Here's what I suggest:\n\n1) Check each school's financial aid website to see if they have separate applications for institutional scholarships\n2) Contact each financial aid office directly to ask if there are additional institutional funds your daughter might qualify for\n3) Ask specifically about merit scholarships if your daughter has strong academics\n4) Inquire about department-specific scholarships in her intended major\n\nMany schools have limited institutional funds and prioritize them for specific populations or reserve them for merit-based awards.

Thank you for this detailed explanation. This helps a lot! I'll start researching each school's scholarship opportunities and definitely follow up with their financial aid offices.

MY KID'S SAI WAS -2700 AND WE GOT NOTHING FROM ANY SCHOOL EXCEPT FEDERAL!!!! The whole system is BROKEN! They expect us to take out massive PLUS loans while the college presidents make millions. It's all a scam and they don't actually care about financial need. Just know that

I definitely understand your frustration, but this isn't universally true. Many schools still provide significant institutional aid. It really depends on which schools you're applying to and their financial resources. State schools often have less institutional aid to distribute compared to private colleges with large endowments. Also, some schools practice \

Easy to say when YOU probably got aid packages! We applied to 7 schools and NOT ONE gave institutional aid despite our negative SAI. That's not a coincidence, that's a broken system.

I was trying to reach FAFSA about a similar issue last week because we also got a negative SAI but minimal aid. Was on hold for literally 3 hours before getting disconnected. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that held my place in line and had an agent call me back. Saved hours of frustration! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ \n\nAnyway, the FAFSA rep explained that the SAI determines federal aid eligibility but each school decides its own institutional aid separately. The agent suggested requesting an appointment with financial aid at each school to discuss additional funding options - apparently sometimes they have discretionary funds they don't advertise.

Thanks for the suggestion about Claimyr - might try that if I need to talk to the federal folks. Good idea about requesting specific appointments with the schools rather than just calling the general financial aid line. I'll try that approach!

I tried talking to FAFSA too but they just kept saying they don't control what schools offer. Complete waste of time!

Has ur daughter received all her financial aid packages yet? My son got similar federal-only packages from most schools at first, but then about 3 weeks later started getting separate letters with merit scholarships from some schools. Sometimes they send them separately or later in the process. Also did u fill out the CSS Profile? Some schools require that for institutional aid consideration.

We've received packages from 5 of her 7 schools so far. And no, we didn't fill out the CSS Profile because none of her schools required it (all state universities). That's good to hear about the merit scholarships coming later - maybe we'll still see some of those!

This is a really common misconception about how financial aid works! Your SAI determines your federal aid eligibility, but each school decides independently whether to offer additional institutional aid. Some factors that influence institutional aid decisions:\n\n- The school's available funding (endowment size matters)\n- Whether they practice need-blind or need-aware admissions\n- If they commit to meeting 100% of demonstrated need\n- Merit considerations beyond financial need\n- How competitive your student is for their applicant pool\n\nI'd suggest two things: First, appeal the financial aid packages if your financial situation has special circumstances not captured on the FAFSA. Second, have your daughter contact the admissions office (not just financial aid) to express her strong interest in attending - sometimes this can trigger additional scholarship consideration.

Thank you for explaining this so clearly. I definitely had a misconception about how the SAI works. I like your suggestion about having her contact admissions directly to express interest - we'll try that approach!

btw have u checked if any of these schools have special scholarships for her major? my nephew got nothing from his general financial aid package but then got a $5k department scholarship from the engineering school after he contacted them directly

No, we haven't looked into that yet! She's planning to major in biology/pre-med. That's a great idea to contact the specific department. Thanks!

One other important point: the financial aid packages you've received are often negotiable, especially if you have better offers from comparable schools. Once you have all the packages in hand, you can approach your daughter's top choice school and ask them to reconsider their offer based on better packages from peer institutions. This process is called a \

I had no idea we could negotiate! That's incredibly helpful. Once we have all the packages, we'll definitely try this approach with her top choice school. Thank you!

We tried appealing and they only gave us an extra $1000. Complete joke considering the $36,000 price tag.