Where do I check my child's FAFSA aid results - studentaid.gov or colleges?

Good question! When your FAFSA is processed, you'll see the SAI (Student Aid Index) on studentaid.gov, but that's NOT your actual financial aid package. Each college uses your SAI to determine their specific aid offer. You'll receive financial aid award letters directly from each individual school your daughter was accepted to, typically between March-April. These letters will detail grants, scholarships, work-study, and loan eligibility specific to that institution. The letters can look very different from school to school, which makes comparing them challenging. Some schools call it an "award letter" while others say "financial aid package" or "financial aid offer.

ur gonna get emails from the colleges with financial aid info. the FAFSA site just shows ur processed but doesnt tell u the $ amts. each school decides wat they give u

The schools will send financial aid award letters, but in my experience, they're often confusing and hard to compare! Our first child is now a junior, and I remember being COMPLETELY lost trying to figure out what was a grant vs a loan. Make sure you really read the details because some schools make loans look like "awards" which is super misleading. Also, don't be afraid to call the financial aid office at each school to ask questions - they can explain their specific package better than anyone.

We went through this last year and were left waiting FOREVER to get the actual aid offers from schools!!! So frustrating! The FAFSA was processed in December and some schools didn't send aid packages until late April! By then we had to make decisions with incomplete information. The whole system is broken IMO

After our FAFSA was processed, I tried calling Federal Student Aid for weeks to ask questions about how the SAI would impact our actual aid offers. Always busy signals or disconnects. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual human at FSA in about 20 minutes instead of hours of redials. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. The agent explained that schools create their own aid formulas using the SAI, and some might offer more aid than others even with the same FAFSA info.

Each school has their own formula and timeline for determining aid. The SAI from FAFSA is just one input they use. Your next steps should be: 1. Check your daughter's student portal for each school she's been accepted to - sometimes aid info appears there first 2. Watch for emails from financial aid offices (check spam folders too) 3. If it's been more than 4 weeks since acceptance and you haven't heard about aid, call the financial aid office directly 4. Create a spreadsheet to compare offers when they arrive (separate out grants vs loans) 5. Don't hesitate to appeal an aid offer if your financial situation has changed since filing FAFSA This process varies by school type too - public universities tend to have more standardized packages, while private schools have more flexibility in their aid formulas.

Just want to add that the financial aid award letters can be REALLY confusing! When my daughter got hers last year, we had to call three different schools to understand what they were actually offering. Some schools front-load grants for freshman year and then reduce them in later years (a practice called "front-loading"). Make sure to ask if the awards are renewable and what GPA she needs to maintain to keep them.

ALSO! Important tip! Once you get the financial aid offers, you can actually negotiate with the schools! If School A offers more aid than School B, but your daughter prefers School B, you can contact School B's financial aid office and (politely) let them know she received a better offer elsewhere. Sometimes they'll match or at least improve their offer. We managed to get an additional $5k/year this way for our son!

One more thing to be aware of - after you receive the aid offers, there will likely be additional steps to officially accept the aid and complete any required verification. Watch for emails about loan entrance counseling, Master Promissory Notes (if accepting loans), or verification requests. These deadlines are important and missing them can result in aid being reduced or rescinded.

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest child, I can confirm what others have said - you'll receive the actual financial aid packages directly from each school, not through the FAFSA website. The SAI (Student Aid Index) on studentaid.gov is just a number that schools use in their calculations, but it doesn't tell you what you'll actually receive. One thing I wish I had known earlier is to create a dedicated email folder for financial aid communications. Between acceptance letters, aid offers, verification requests, and deadlines, it gets overwhelming fast! Also, don't panic if some schools take longer than others - we had one school send their package in February and another didn't send theirs until late April, but both were well before the May 1st deadline. The key is staying organized and not being afraid to call the financial aid offices directly if you have questions. They're usually very helpful and want to make sure you understand their offers. Good luck with the process!

I just went through this exact same situation last month! The FAFSA website showing "completed" is just the first step - think of it like submitting your tax return vs. getting your refund. The SAI (Student Aid Index) you're seeing is basically your "financial need score" that gets sent to all the colleges your daughter applied to. Each school will use that SAI along with their own financial aid policies to create individual aid packages. These come as separate communications (usually email + mail) directly from each college's financial aid office. In my experience, the timing was all over the place - some schools sent packages within 2 weeks of acceptance, others took 6+ weeks. Pro tip: Start checking your daughter's student portals at each school regularly. Sometimes the aid information shows up there before you get the official letter. Also, make sure the email address on her applications is one you both check frequently - I almost missed an important deadline because it went to an old email! The waiting is the hardest part, but you're definitely on the right track. The fact that her FAFSA is processed means the schools have what they need to make their determinations.

I went through this same process two years ago with my daughter and remember feeling equally confused! Just to add to what everyone else has shared - don't forget to also check if your daughter qualifies for any state-specific financial aid programs. Some states have their own grant programs that use FAFSA data but require separate applications or have earlier deadlines. Also, when you do start receiving those award letters, pay close attention to the "Cost of Attendance" (COA) that each school lists. This includes tuition, room/board, books, and estimated living expenses. Sometimes a school with higher tuition might actually cost less overall if they offer better aid packages. One last tip - if your family's financial situation has changed significantly since you filed the FAFSA (job loss, medical expenses, etc.), make sure to contact each school's financial aid office to discuss a "professional judgment review." They can sometimes adjust your aid based on current circumstances rather than just last year's tax info. The whole process is overwhelming but you're asking all the right questions! Your daughter is lucky to have a parent who's being so proactive about understanding the financial aid process.

I'm currently going through this exact same process with my son, so I completely understand your confusion! Just wanted to add one more helpful tip that I learned from our college counselor - create a simple tracking spreadsheet with columns for each school, acceptance date, FAFSA received date (you can usually see this in the student portal), and expected aid letter date. Most schools will give you a rough timeline if you call their financial aid office directly and ask "When do you typically send aid packages after receiving FAFSA data?" This helped us set realistic expectations instead of just waiting and wondering. Also, I noticed that some schools send a preliminary aid estimate first, then a more detailed official package later. Don't panic if the first communication seems incomplete - just keep an eye out for follow-up materials. The waiting really is the hardest part, but from everything I've read here and experienced myself, it sounds like you're right on track timing-wise. Hang in there!

I'm going through this exact same process right now with my daughter and was feeling completely lost until I read all these responses! The confusion about where to actually find the aid amounts is so real - the FAFSA website definitely doesn't make it clear that the SAI is just a number for schools to use, not your actual aid. One thing I learned from calling a few schools directly is that many of them have specific dates when they release aid packages in batches. For example, one school told me they send all their aid letters on the 15th of each month, so if you just missed that date, you might be waiting almost a month for the next batch. It might be worth asking about their release schedule when you call. Also, I've started checking not just email but also the regular mail since some schools still send physical letters. My neighbor almost missed an aid deadline because the email went to spam but the paper letter got delayed in the mail. This whole process feels unnecessarily complicated, but at least we're all figuring it out together! Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's making this much less stressful.

I'm in the exact same boat as you with my son! His FAFSA just got processed this week and I was also confused about where to actually see the financial aid amounts. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea that the SAI was just a calculation tool for schools rather than our actual aid amount. One thing I discovered is that you can often find hints about aid timeline in the "Financial Aid" section of each school's website. Some schools actually post their typical aid release dates right on their financial aid pages. I checked three of my son's schools and two of them had estimated timelines posted, which helped set my expectations. Also wanted to mention that our high school guidance counselor suggested creating a shared Google Drive folder with copies of all acceptance letters, aid documents, and deadlines so both my son and I can access everything from anywhere. Super helpful when you're trying to compare multiple schools and don't want to lose track of important paperwork! The waiting is definitely anxiety-inducing, but it sounds like we're both right on track with the normal timeline. Fingers crossed we both get good news soon!

Going through this same process right now with my twin daughters! Just wanted to add that I discovered some schools have a "Net Price Calculator" on their websites that can give you a rough estimate of what your aid package might look like while you're waiting for the official letters. It's not perfect since it's based on general data, but it helped give me a ballpark idea of what to expect from each school. Also, if you haven't already, make sure your daughter has set up her student portal accounts at each school she was accepted to. Sometimes schools post aid information there first before sending emails or letters. I check them every few days just to stay on top of any updates. One more tip - I started a simple calendar reminder system for following up with schools if we haven't heard anything after 4-5 weeks from her acceptance date. That way I don't have to keep track of dates in my head and can proactively reach out if needed. The whole process definitely feels overwhelming when you're going through it for the first time, but everyone here has given such helpful advice! We're all learning together.

I'm going through this exact same process with my daughter right now and was feeling so lost until I found this thread! Her FAFSA was completed about two weeks ago and like you, I kept checking studentaid.gov expecting to see actual dollar amounts somewhere. Reading everyone's responses has been incredibly reassuring - I had no idea that schools create their own aid packages using the SAI rather than us getting a standard amount. I've already started implementing some of the great suggestions here: set up the dedicated email folder, started checking her student portals regularly, and created a tracking spreadsheet with all her schools and acceptance dates. One thing I wanted to add is that I called one of the schools yesterday just to ask about their timeline, and the financial aid officer was so helpful! She explained that they typically send packages 3-4 weeks after receiving the FAFSA data, and she could see that they had received my daughter's information, so we should expect something in the next week or two. It was such a relief to get a concrete timeline instead of just wondering. This whole process is definitely more complex than I expected, but this community has made it so much less stressful. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and tips!