What Is a High Student Aid Index (SAI)?

More than five million borrowers completed the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), according to the U.S. Department of Education. If you filled out the FAFSA for the first time and are reviewing your financial aid offer, you may come across a term you’ve never heard before — the Student Aid Index (SAI). 

The SAI is a number that colleges use to calculate how much financial aid you’re eligible for. Let’s look at what the SAI is, how it’s calculated, and what it means for your college costs. 

Current private student loan rates

What is the Student Aid Index (SAI)?

Your Student Aid Index (SAI) is a number calculated based on your FAFSA information that helps schools determine how much financial aid you might need. The SAI is a formula-based index ranging from negative 1,500 to 999,999. A negative SAI indicates you need more financial aid, while a high SAI usually means you need less. 

What is considered a high Student Aid Index?

A high SAI generally indicates a family has more financial resources available to pay for college and may receive less need-based aid. However, there’s no single cutoff that indicates you have a “high” score. An SAI of -1,500 to 0 makes you most likely to qualify for the maximum Federal Pell Grant award. The closer you are to 999,999, the less likely you are to receive aid. 

How is the Student Aid Index calculated?

The SAI is calculated using the information you submit on the FAFSA. It assesses the financial resources available to you — and your parents if you are a dependent student — based on factors such as income, assets, family size, number of students in college, and tax information. It then subtracts basic living expenses from your financial resources to determine your expected financial contribution. 

Most financial aid offices subtract your SAI from the school's total cost of attendance to determine the amount of financial aid you qualify for. For example, if the total cost of attendance is $30,000, and your SAI is $20,000, you'd be eligible for up to $10,000 in need-based aid, including programs like work study or subsidized student loans for low-income borrowers. 

How a high SAI affects financial aid eligibility

While there is no FAFSA income limit, your SAI has a major impact on access to financial aid. 

“A high SAI generally reduces your eligibility for need-based aid like Pell Grants and institutional aid,” explains John Morganelli Jr., Director of College Counseling at Ivy Tutors Network. “It can also influence your access to subsidized loans and certain work-study opportunities, since those are often need-based as well.”

Shannon Vasconcelos, senior director of college finance at Bright Horizons College Coach, points out that what’s considered a high SAI depends on the school’s cost of attendance. 

“If a student’s SAI is $30,000 and they’re applying to an in-state public college that costs $30,000, their SAI is too high to qualify for any need-based aid,” Vasconcelos says. “If that same student applied to a private college that costs $90,000, however, they would still qualify for $60,000 in need-based financial aid. So what’s considered a high SAI is relative.” 

However, Vasconcelos notes that Pell Grant calculations are an exception to this rule since they aren’t dependent on the cost of the college. “Qualifying SAIs vary from year to year, but, currently, any student with an SAI above approximately $7,000 will not qualify for a Pell Grant,” she says. 

What to do if your Student Aid Index is high

Many students have a high SAI, but still struggle to cover their college costs. If you find yourself in this position, here are some steps you can take to make college more affordable. 

Appeal your financial aid awards

Many families don’t realize they have the option to appeal their financial aid offers. 

“Colleges have the discretion to use professional judgment to consider individual family circumstances that weren’t reflected on the FAFSA,” explains Vasconcelos. She says that common grounds for appeal include reduced income due to job loss or artificially inflated income from non-repeating sources such as a one-time bonus or severance payout. 

“When it comes to appealing a financial aid offer despite a high SAI, it makes the most sense at institutions that are known for offering merit scholarships or are willing to negotiate based on competing offers,” adds Morganelli. “In other words, if you have a strong package from a similarly ranked school, that can serve as leverage for negotiation.”

Look for lower-cost schools

Although you can't change your SAI, you can change the cost of attendance based on which college you choose.

“If a student has a high SAI, yet doesn’t believe they can actually afford to pay that amount for college, I recommend that they focus on lower-cost schools,” says Vasconcelos. “These can be schools that simply have a lower sticker price, like public as opposed to private colleges. They could also start at community college before transferring to a four-year school.”

Look for scholarships

Exploring other sources of aid also makes good sense — especially aid you don't have to repay. 

“For borrowers with a high SAI, the strategic approach is to look at schools that offer significant merit aid,” recommends Morganelli. “These schools may be a bit less selective on average, but they can provide substantial discounts that are not tied to need. These schools are often more likely to negotiate.”

Use federal and private student loans

Finally, students can take advantage of unsubsidized federal loans first, and then use private loans strategically to cover any gaps in financing. However, you will likely need a parent or creditworthy borrower to co-sign with you on private student loans. 

“Students should be very careful not to borrow beyond what they can actually afford to pay back,” warns Vasconcelos. “They should run a loan repayment calculator and be confident that they can handle the monthly student loan payments.”

Student Aid Index vs. Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

Starting with the 2024-25 FAFSA, the SAI replaced the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as the measure of a family's financial strength. The change was made because some found EFC to be a confusing name since it wasn't a dollar amount families were expected to pay, but rather, an index number used to determine eligibility for financial aid. 

The SAI and EFC are similar in many ways, but the SAI simplifies the application process by requiring less information from families. The SAI also allows for negative numbers, which indicate a higher financial need, while the EFC couldn't go below zero. 

The SAI also removed the sibling discount, which gave students with a sibling in college a break in their EFC and increased the students’ eligibility for aid. The change was necessary because after a sibling graduated, families often saw their available financial aid drop. Removing the sibling discount allows for a more equitable financial aid system overall.