SAI differences between siblings in FAFSA 2025-2026: Where did the 350-point gap come from?

The loan difference is completely normal - it's based on year in school. First-year students can get up to $5,500 in Direct Loans, second-year students get $6,500, and third-year and beyond get $7,500. That's standard across all schools. The SAI difference is more interesting though. A 350-point gap could come from a few factors: 1. The internship savings you mentioned - student assets are weighted more heavily in the formula 2. If one child has any income from work, that gets counted differently 3. Sometimes the order you listed dependents in the FAFSA can affect calculations It's also worth noting that for the 2025-2026 application, they're using your 2023 tax information, so if your circumstances have changed significantly since then, you might want to contact the financial aid offices directly.

why would u even care about 350 points difference??? that's nothing lol. my brothers SAI was like 2000 points higher than mine and we didnt even question it. just be happy neither of them got flagged for verification thats the real headache trust me

What you're seeing with the 350-point SAI difference is actually quite common with siblings. The FAFSA formula looks at household size and number of college students, but it doesn't treat all dependents identically. When I worked in a financial aid office, we saw this constantly. The primary factors that could cause this difference are: - Age differences (older students have different income protection allowances) - Student income differences (even small amounts can significantly impact SAI) - Asset distribution (as you noted with the savings account) - Merit scholarships or institutional aid can affect SAI calculations indirectly For work-study, "may be eligible" is standard language. Each school has a limited pool of work-study funds, so they can't guarantee it to everyone who qualifies by SAI.

When I had a similar issue (700 point difference between my twins), I spent 4 DAYS trying to reach someone at Federal Student Aid. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally, I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got connected to an agent in 15 minutes. They explained that the SAI difference was due to how they calculated my twins' summer job income - one worked more hours than the other. They even helped me submit a correction that lowered both SAIs by about 200 points! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ

I don't mean to alarm you, but you should double-check if either application got selected for verification. Sometimes there's no obvious flag on the SAR. I've seen cases where the SAI difference between siblings triggered automatic verification for one of them. Log into studentaid.gov and look for any messages or download the full SAR pdf to check. Also, did both kids answer all the questions identically? Sometimes tiny differences in how questions about household size, marital status, or even addresses can cause unexpected calculation differences. P.S. The loan amounts are normal - they increase by year in school. Freshman = $5,500, Sophomore = $6,500, Junior/Senior = $7,500.

the diffrence is probably becuz of their ages. my sister n me had like 500 point difference and the fin aid office said it was becuz of the age allowance thing in the formula. older students get more protection for their income or somethng?? idk exactly how it works but thats what they told us lol. also the loan amounts always go up each year ur in school thats just how it works

I went through something similar with my twins and just about lost my mind trying to figure it out!!! It ended up being that one of them had a birthday that put them in a different age bracket for the calculations. Apparently for 2025-2026 FAFSA, if your student turns 20 before December 31, 2025, they get a higher income protection allowance than if they're still 19 or younger. Could your sophomore be turning 20 this year while your freshman is still 18/19? That could explain the 350 point difference almost exactly!

Now that I'm seeing the age explanation, that makes perfect sense. Just to give you some numbers for reference: for the 2025-2026 FAFSA, the Income Protection Allowance for dependent students aged <20 is $7,130, while for students aged 20+ it's $8,890. That $1,760 difference in protection allowance could easily translate to about a 350-point SAI difference. As for the work study, that language is intentionally vague because schools don't want to promise funds they might not have. Each institution receives a limited Federal Work Study allocation, and they have to prioritize students based on need and application date.

I'm glad you were able to figure out the age allowance issue! As a newcomer to this process, I'm learning so much from reading through these discussions. It's really helpful to see how the Income Protection Allowance works differently for different age brackets. I have twins who will both be applying for FAFSA next year, and they'll be 18 and 19 respectively, so this information is super valuable. One question though - does anyone know if there are other age-related thresholds in the formula beyond the 20-year cutoff? I want to make sure I understand all the factors that could cause differences between my kids' applications when the time comes. Also, completely agree that the FAFSA website should explain these details more clearly instead of leaving families to figure it out through trial and error!

As someone new to navigating FAFSA with multiple kids, this thread has been incredibly educational! I have two children who will be applying in the next couple of years, and I had no idea about the age-based Income Protection Allowance differences. The fact that a student turning 20 before December 31st gets a higher protection allowance ($8,890 vs $7,130) is such a crucial detail that isn't clearly explained anywhere on the official FAFSA materials. It's frustrating that families have to piece together this information through forums and trial and error. I'm curious - are there any other "hidden" factors in the SAI calculation that families should be aware of? Things like the order you list dependents, timing of when you submit applications, or other variables that might not be obvious but could impact results? It seems like there are so many nuances to this system that aren't well documented. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and knowledge here - it's invaluable for those of us still figuring this out!

As a newcomer to this whole FAFSA process, I'm amazed by how much valuable information is packed into this thread! I have one child who will be a college freshman next year, and I had absolutely no idea about things like the age-based Income Protection Allowance differences or how student vs. parent assets are weighted so differently. The fact that Mason's mystery was solved through the collective knowledge of this community really shows how inadequate the official FAFSA resources are for explaining these nuances. It's concerning that families have to become detectives to understand why their aid calculations come out the way they do. I'm taking notes on everything mentioned here - the 20-year age cutoff, the different loan amounts by year in school, the 20% vs 5.6% asset assessment rates. This is the kind of practical information that should be front and center on the FAFSA website, not buried in formulas that require a finance degree to decipher. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and expertise. This thread should be required reading for anyone navigating FAFSA with multiple children!

As someone completely new to FAFSA and just starting to research the process for my upcoming college-bound senior, this entire thread has been absolutely eye-opening! I had no idea there were so many hidden variables that could affect aid calculations between siblings. The age-based Income Protection Allowance difference that solved Mason's mystery is something I never would have thought to look for. It's incredibly helpful to know that students turning 20 before December 31st get that higher protection allowance ($8,890 vs $7,130). My daughter will still be 18 when we apply, so at least I don't have to worry about that particular variable. What really strikes me is how this community was able to solve in a few hours what would probably take days of trying to reach Federal Student Aid directly. The collective knowledge here is amazing - from Vera explaining the loan year differences to Brielle providing the technical details about the formula variations. I'm definitely bookmarking this thread and starting a FAFSA prep document with all these insights. Things like the 20% student asset assessment vs 5.6% parent asset assessment, the timing of student income reporting, and even potential issues with the order of listing dependents are all details I would never have known to consider. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and helping decode this incredibly complex system!