Why is my SAI so high with 3 kids in college? Single parent confused about FAFSA eligibility

The SAI calculation is definitely confusing, but I can help break it down. The SAI (Student Aid Index) replaced the old EFC and is calculated using several factors: 1. Your income (both taxable and untaxed) 2. Your assets (savings, investments, etc.) 3. Family size and number in college 4. State of residence and other factors Having multiple children in college SHOULD lower your SAI significantly. With three in college, I'm surprised your SAI is that high. A few possibilities: - Did you correctly indicate all three children are enrolled at least half-time in college? - Did you accidentally include your children's income/assets as your own? - Was there a one-time income boost in the tax year used (like a retirement distribution or property sale)? You should definitely request a Professional Judgment review at each school's financial aid office. They can adjust the SAI for special circumstances.

thats way 2 high for ur situation...something is def wrong! when i filled out fafsa for my kids (ive got 2 in school) my SAI came back at like 4200 and I make $58K. i own a home too. did u check all the boxes about how many in ur household r in college???? that makes a HUGE diff

The new FAFSA calculation is BRUTAL on middle-income families. I'm in a similar boat - single mom, 2 kids in college, and my SAI is ridiculous. The system is broken. They expect us to somehow magically come up with thousands of dollars we don't have. I've been fighting with financial aid offices for months. They just keep telling me to take out Parent PLUS loans and go into debt. It's disgusting.

Based on what you've shared, there's definitely something off with your SAI calculation. With your income level and three dependents in college, your SAI should be much lower. Here are some specific issues to check: 1. Student assets are assessed at a much higher rate (20%) than parent assets (under 6% typically). If you included your child's inheritance as a parental asset, that's correct, but if it was reported as the student's asset, that could be inflating your SAI. 2. The FAFSA for 2025-2026 uses a new formula that treats some situations differently than before. The number in college adjustment works differently now. 3. Double-check that you correctly entered your AGI from your tax return, not your gross income. 4. Verify that you selected "single parent/head of household" as your tax filing status if that's how you file. I recommend immediately requesting a SAI appeal (Professional Judgment review) at each school. Bring documentation of all three enrollments and your financial information.

I went through this exact nightmare last year. The problem is getting through to someone at Federal Student Aid who actually understands the SAI calculation and can help you. I spent WEEKS trying to get through on their phone line only to be disconnected or put on hold for hours. Finally, I used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual FSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent was able to review my SAI calculation line by line and found an error where the system wasn't properly counting all my children as college students. After they fixed it, my SAI dropped by over $8,000! Definitely worth looking into if you're hitting walls trying to reach someone.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - check if your assets were reported correctly. The new FAFSA is supposed to protect more of your assets from the calculation (like your home equity isn't counted at all), but sometimes people accidentally include assets that shouldn't be counted. Also, for dependent students, the parent's contribution gets divided by the number of family members in college. So if your SAI is 18,350 and you have 3 in college, each student's individual SAI should be about $6,117 - which might still qualify for some aid depending on the school's cost of attendance. Make sure each school is using the correct individual SAI, not the family total!

CALL EVERY SCHOOL FINANCIAL AID OFFICE AND DEMAND A PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT REVIEW!!!! Don't take no for an answer! The squeaky wheel gets the grease! My daughter got zero aid initially and after I caused enough of a fuss and provided documentation about our situation, they found another $6500 in grants for her. Be persistent!!!

After reading through your responses, I think we've identified a major issue. The child's inheritance being reported as a student asset instead of a parent asset would SIGNIFICANTLY increase your SAI. Student assets are assessed at 20% versus about 5.6% for parent assets. A $15,000 inheritance reported as a student asset would add approximately $3,000 to your SAI, whereas reported as a parent asset it would add only about $840. I suggest these steps: 1. Call each school's financial aid office and request a "Professional Judgment Review" specifically mentioning the asset reporting error 2. Bring documentation showing you're the custodian of the account 3. Explain that you mistakenly reported it as a student asset 4. Ask them to recalculate your SAI with the correct asset designation Most schools are willing to make these adjustments when there's a clear misunderstanding of how to report assets.

also check if ur using the right tax info! my friend put in the wrong tax year data and it messed up his whole application lol. the 2025-26 FAFSA uses 2023 tax info

UPDATE: I called all three schools and requested a Professional Judgment review. Two schools were very helpful and are sending me forms to fill out. The third school was dismissive at first, but when I specifically mentioned the asset reporting issue with my daughter's inheritance, they agreed to review the application. I also discovered another potential issue - I may have incorrectly reported my retirement account because I wasn't sure which assets to include and which to exclude. Keeping my fingers crossed that this gets resolved. I'm determined to get this fixed because there's no way I can pay for three college tuitions without some form of need-based aid.

i had this same problem!!! turned out i accidently put a decimal point in the wrong place when entering my income lolol. i put $620,000 instead of $62,000. check all your numbers!!!

Quick question - did you file as Head of Household on your taxes? If you qualified but filed as Single instead, that could also affect your SAI calculation. It's another thing to mention during your Professional Judgment review.

I'm new to this community but going through a similar situation with my two kids in college. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful! It sounds like you've identified several potential issues that could be causing your high SAI. The inheritance reporting issue seems like it could be a major factor - that difference between 20% assessment for student assets vs ~5.6% for parent assets is huge. And if you accidentally included retirement accounts, that would definitely inflate your SAI significantly. I wanted to add one more thing to check - make sure when you listed your household size, you included yourself plus all your dependents (not just the ones in college). So if you have 3 kids total, your household size should be 4, with 3 in college. Sometimes people only count the college students and forget to include themselves or other dependents. Also, don't give up on the appeals process! From what I'm reading here, it sounds like you have legitimate grounds for a Professional Judgment review. Keep pushing and make sure you document everything. Good luck!

I'm also new here but wanted to chime in because I went through almost the exact same situation last year. Single parent, multiple kids in college, and a shockingly high SAI that made no sense. From reading your thread, it sounds like you've already identified the major culprits - the inheritance being reported as a student asset is probably the biggest factor. But I wanted to mention something else that might help: when you do your Professional Judgment appeals, ask specifically about "sibling enrollment verification." Some schools require additional documentation to prove that all three of your children are actually enrolled at least half-time. Even though you listed it on the FAFSA, they may need enrollment verification letters from each school. Without this documentation, some schools won't consider the multiple-student factor in their aid calculations. Also, I've found that calling early in the morning (like right when the financial aid office opens) gets you connected to more knowledgeable staff who have time to actually look into complex cases like yours. The afternoon staff are often swamped and give more generic responses. Hang in there - with three kids in college and your income level, you absolutely should be getting need-based aid once these errors are corrected!

I'm new to this community but your situation really resonates with me. I'm also dealing with FAFSA issues, though not quite as complex as yours with three kids in college. Reading through all the responses here, it sounds like you've gotten some excellent advice! The inheritance reporting error seems like it could be the main culprit - that 20% vs 5.6% assessment rate difference is massive on a $15,000 asset. I wanted to add one thing that helped me when I was struggling with my SAI calculation: if you haven't already, try logging back into your FAFSA and reviewing each section carefully before you submit corrections. Sometimes seeing the questions again with fresh eyes after learning about common mistakes (like the retirement account inclusion that @Caden Nguyen mentioned) can help you spot other errors. Also, when you do your Professional Judgment appeals, consider writing a brief letter explaining your family's financial situation in plain terms alongside the official forms. Sometimes putting a human story behind the numbers helps financial aid counselors understand why the SAI doesn't make sense for your situation. Really hoping the appeals process works out for you - with your income and three kids in college, you absolutely deserve need-based aid once these errors are corrected!

I'm new to this community but your situation really hits close to home - I'm also a single parent trying to navigate the FAFSA maze, though I only have two kids in college. Reading through all these responses, it's clear you've gotten some fantastic advice! The inheritance asset reporting issue seems like the biggest culprit, and I'm amazed at how much difference that 20% vs 5.6% assessment rate makes on $15,000. One thing I'd add from my own experience: when you call for those Professional Judgment reviews, ask to speak with a supervisor or senior financial aid counselor if the first person you talk to seems dismissive or unhelpful. I had one school where the initial person told me "the SAI is what it is" but when I escalated, the supervisor was much more knowledgeable about appeals and actually helped identify errors in my application. Also, keep detailed notes of every conversation - names, dates, what was discussed. It's been helpful when I've had to follow up or when different people at the same school gave me conflicting information. With three kids in college and your income level, there's absolutely no way your SAI should be that high once these errors are corrected. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise - keep pushing for those appeals!

Welcome to the community! As someone who's been helping families navigate FAFSA issues for several years, I can see you've already received excellent advice here. The inheritance reporting error is almost certainly your biggest problem - that difference between 20% assessment for student assets versus ~5.6% for parent assets on $15,000 could easily add $2,000+ to your SAI. I wanted to add a few practical tips for your Professional Judgment appeals: 1. **Get everything in writing** - when schools agree to review your case, ask for confirmation emails with reference numbers 2. **Submit identical appeals to all three schools simultaneously** - don't wait for one to finish before starting another 3. **Include a simple calculation** showing what your SAI should be with corrections - it helps counselors see the impact immediately One more thing - if any of your children are attending schools that meet full need (you can check this on their websites), those schools are often more generous with Professional Judgment adjustments since they're committed to making attendance affordable. Your situation with three kids in college and $62K income should absolutely qualify for substantial need-based aid. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise - keep pushing those appeals!

I'm new to this community but your post really caught my attention because I went through something very similar last year. Reading through all the responses, it's clear you've gotten some incredible advice from this community! The inheritance asset reporting issue that several people identified is almost certainly your main problem. I made the exact same mistake with my daughter's college savings account - reported it as her asset instead of mine as the custodian. That 20% vs ~5.6% assessment rate made a huge difference in our SAI calculation. One thing I'd add that helped us: when I did the Professional Judgment appeal, I created a simple spreadsheet showing "Current SAI calculation" versus "Corrected SAI calculation" with the specific dollar impact of each error. It made it really easy for the financial aid counselor to see exactly why our case warranted review. Also, don't be discouraged if the first person you talk to at each school isn't helpful. I had to escalate to supervisors at two of my daughter's schools to find people who really understood the appeals process. The squeaky wheel definitely gets the grease in these situations. With three kids in college and your income level, you absolutely should qualify for significant need-based aid once these errors are corrected. Keep pushing - you've got this!

I'm new to this community but your situation really resonates with me as a parent who's been through the FAFSA appeals process. Reading through all the excellent advice you've received here, it's clear that the inheritance asset reporting error is likely your biggest issue - that difference between 20% student asset assessment vs ~5.6% parent asset assessment on $15,000 could easily account for $2,000+ of your inflated SAI. One additional tip that helped me during Professional Judgment appeals: ask each school specifically about their "sibling discount" or "multiple enrollment" policies. While the new FAFSA doesn't automatically divide SAI by number in college like the old EFC system did, many schools have internal policies to provide additional aid when families have multiple students enrolled simultaneously. Some schools are more generous about this than others, so it's worth asking directly. Also, when you submit your appeals, consider including a brief family budget showing your monthly expenses with three college students. Sometimes seeing the actual cash flow reality helps financial aid counselors understand why the calculated SAI doesn't reflect your family's true ability to pay. With your income level and three kids in college, there's absolutely no way that SAI should be that high once the asset reporting is corrected. Keep advocating for your family - you deserve fair consideration!

I'm new to this community but wanted to reach out because your situation sounds incredibly frustrating and stressful. As someone who's helped other families navigate FAFSA appeals, I can see you've already received some fantastic advice here that should really help resolve your SAI issue. The asset reporting error with your daughter's inheritance seems to be the smoking gun - reporting $15,000 as a student asset (20% assessment) versus parent asset (~5.6% assessment) could easily add $2,000-3,000 to your SAI. Combined with any other potential errors people have mentioned, that could fully explain why your SAI is so inflated. I wanted to add one more suggestion for your Professional Judgment appeals: consider asking each school about their "emergency aid" or "additional consideration" funds. Many schools have separate pots of money specifically for families facing unusual financial hardships - like supporting three college students simultaneously on a single income. These funds often have different criteria than regular need-based aid and might be available even while your SAI appeals are being processed. Also, don't forget to document everything throughout this process. Keep records of all your calls, emails, and submissions. If one school approves a significant adjustment to your aid package, you can use that as leverage when appealing to the other schools. With three kids in college and your income level, you absolutely deserve substantial financial aid. Keep fighting for your family - this community is rooting for you!

I'm new to this community but your situation really struck a chord with me as a fellow single parent who recently went through the FAFSA nightmare. Reading through all the responses here, it's clear you've received some incredibly detailed and helpful advice! The inheritance asset reporting error that multiple people identified is almost certainly your biggest issue. I made a similar mistake with my son's 529 account - the difference between 20% student asset assessment and ~5.6% parent asset assessment is huge. On $15,000, that alone could inflate your SAI by over $2,000. One thing I'd add that really helped during my appeals process: when you call each school, ask specifically to speak with a "financial aid counselor who handles Professional Judgment cases" rather than just asking for financial aid. I found that these specialists are much more knowledgeable about the appeals process and various correction procedures than general staff. Also, consider timing your calls strategically. I had the best luck calling Tuesday-Thursday mornings right when offices opened. Mondays they're swamped catching up from the weekend, and Fridays people seem to be winding down for the week. With your income and three kids in college simultaneously, there's no way that SAI should be anywhere near 18,350 once the asset reporting is corrected. Keep pushing those appeals - you've got a strong case and this community is behind you!