Glossary · Financial Aid
Student Aid Index
The number calculated from the FAFSA that represents a family’s assessed ability to pay for college. Schools subtract the SAI from their Cost of Attendance to determine demonstrated financial need. The SAI replaced the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) starting with the 2024-2025 cycle.
What it means
The Student Aid Index is the output of the FAFSA formula. It takes family income (pulled directly from IRS data via the Direct Data Exchange), assets (excluding retirement and primary residence), household size, and number of family members in college, and produces a single number. That number is used by every school the student applies to.
The SAI is not school-specific. A family has one SAI regardless of whether the student applies to a $30,000 public or an $85,000 private. What changes is the demonstrated need calculation: COA minus SAI. The higher the COA, the more demonstrated need, which is why expensive schools can be cheaper for low-income families than affordable schools that leave need gaps.
Key changes from the old EFC formula: the SAI can go negative (minimum -$1,500), the sibling discount was eliminated (having two children in college no longer reduces the number), the income protection allowance was adjusted, and small business and farm assets are back in the calculation above certain thresholds. The contributor model means each financial contributor to the student files their own FAFSA section independently.
Worked example
Family income: $85,000 AGI. Assets: $25,000 in savings (primary residence and retirement excluded). Family size: 4. One child in college. The SAI formula applies the income protection allowance (~$34,000 for a family of 4), assesses 22-47% of remaining income above protection, adds an asset contribution of approximately $1,400 (5.64% of assets above the asset protection allowance), and produces an SAI of approximately $18,000. This means every school will calculate demonstrated need as their COA minus $18,000.
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