Why are my kids' FAFSA SAI scores so different when both are my dependents?

yeah this happened with my twins last year. turns out one had a small scholarship that counted as income on their application. check if your junior had any income or assets that ur freshman doesn't have yet.

The SAI difference is likely related to the multi-child discount in the FAFSA formula. When you have multiple children enrolled in college simultaneously, the expected family contribution is divided among them. For the 2025-2026 aid year, this adjustment is automatically calculated in the SAI formula. Your junior is benefiting from this discount because you have two children in college, while your freshman's calculation might be showing what you'd pay if he were your only college student. Check both of their SAI calculation breakdowns on studentaid.gov to confirm this is the reason for the discrepancy.

I'm having the EXACT SAME PROBLEM with my twins!!! Their SAIs are over $7000 different from each other despite identical parent info. I've been trying to call FSA for THREE WEEKS and can't get through to anyone. Their website is useless too - just keeps redirecting me to FAQ pages that don't address sibling SAI differences at all. I'm seriously panicking because financial aid packages are being determined based on these wrong numbers!!!

did u check if u accidentally put something different on the forms? i filled out 3 fafsa forms this yr (3 kids lol) and realized i accidentally put different amounts for our house value on each one. small mistakes can cause big differences

This discrepancy is likely due to one of three factors: 1. Cost of Attendance (COA) differences: Your junior's college might have a higher COA than your freshman's chosen school, which affects the final SAI calculation. 2. Timing issue: If you submitted the applications at different times, there could be a processing disparity. The FAFSA formula underwent adjustments throughout the 2025-2026 cycle. 3. Most likely explanation: Student-specific information differences. Even minor variations in your children's own income, assets, or tax information can create substantial SAI differences. I'd recommend requesting a detailed SAI calculation breakdown from both schools' financial aid offices. They can provide a line-by-line comparison showing exactly where the calculations diverged. If you confirm there's an actual error, submit a correction through studentaid.gov or contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center.

all these complicated explanations but the truth is FAFSA is just broken this year. the whole new system is a disaster. my neighbor works in financial aid and says they're seeing bizarre calculations all over the place. you probably just got caught in the mess.

I experienced a similar issue last year and discovered the problem was related to a dependency verification flag on one application but not the other. For some reason, the system had flagged my older daughter for verification (which temporarily gave her a higher SAI) but not my younger son. Once both verifications were complete, their SAIs adjusted to be almost identical. My recommendation: Check if either application has a verification requirement or processing flag. Also check the status of both applications - sometimes one is fully processed while the other is still in a preliminary calculation stage.

verification TOTALLY messes up the sai. my daughter's went from 22k to 12k after verification got cleared up last year. thats probly ur answer

Yes, verification status can absolutely cause significant SAI differences. The verification flag typically means the system is using a provisional calculation until documentation is reviewed. Here's what to do: 1. Submit all requested verification documents for your son as soon as possible 2. Include a brief note explaining both children are in your household with identical parent information 3. Request priority processing due to the discrepancy affecting financial aid decisions 4. Follow up with the financial aid office at their university since they can sometimes expedite verification Once verification is complete, your son's SAI should adjust to be much closer to your daughter's. The $9,500 difference is significant but not unusual for pre-verification vs. post-verification calculations.

I'm glad you found the root cause! Just wanted to add that when you submit those verification documents, make sure to scan them clearly and submit all pages - incomplete verification submissions can delay processing even more. Also keep copies of everything you send. The verification process usually takes 2-3 weeks once they receive complete documentation, but given that aid packages are being finalized soon, definitely call the financial aid office to let them know about the urgency. They might be able to give you a preliminary aid estimate based on your daughter's verified SAI while waiting for your son's verification to complete.

This verification flag issue is actually super common this year - I work at a college financial aid office and we've seen tons of families with exactly this situation. The provisional SAI calculations can be wildly off, especially when there are multiple kids in college. One thing to watch out for when you submit those verification docs: make sure you're uploading them to the correct student's application. We've had parents accidentally upload their younger child's verification documents to the older child's FAFSA, which just creates more delays. Also, if you haven't already, you might want to reach out directly to your kids' financial aid office and explain the situation - they can often put a note in the file to hold off on finalizing aid packages until the verification is resolved.

I'd definitely call the financial aid office first before submitting the verification documents. Most offices are actually really helpful about this kind of situation because they deal with it all the time - you're not bothering them, you're helping them do their job better by giving them a heads up about the SAI discrepancy. When you call, explain that you have two kids with different SAI scores due to a verification flag and ask them to put a hold on finalizing aid packages until the verification is complete. They can usually flag both accounts and make sure they process them together once the documents are submitted. Plus, they might be able to tell you exactly which documents they need and any specific formatting requirements, which can save you time and prevent delays from having to resubmit things.