Student Aid Index (SAI) replaces family income for FAFSA eligibility    

The 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has changed and many students will notice changes in their application and financial aid that they may receive.

Multiple students have reported that they were not able to receive financial aid due to new requirements for Dependency status and most importantly the replacement of the Estimated Family Contribution statistic (EFC).

 According to the official FAFSA website, Dependency and EFC used to be the main determinants of financial aid, however, EFC has been changed to the Student Aid Index (SAI). Which is no longer a system that is based upon a dollar amount, but rather, a variety of factors included in a student’s application and can range anywhere from -1500 to 999999. Again, not in dollars but it is more of a need-rating system. 

Nicola Fish, a Financial Advisor II for our scholarships and financial aid office from our campus financial aid office. A large issue many students are having is with documentation being properly submitted and filled out.

 Ms. Fish stated that the biggest issue with this year's FAFSA is the delays especially those in the communications with the government and the financial aid office as well as getting any signatures needed to complete those communications. If students need to correct something it could take months for the financial aid office to receive the transaction.

 The number of students reporting issues is comparable to previous semesters according to Ms. Fish, so it is unclear if the change of dates and new features or changes has actually caused more problems. It is unclear if these changes are going to stick or if FAFSA will change back again with the former being the most likely. According to Ms. Fish, the new FAFSA is a much faster process, and will be better overall once some of the kinks are worked out.