Student Aid Index (SAI)
What Is an SAI?
Your Student Aid Index (SAI) is a number that is created by the Department of Education after you submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Their formula uses information from your FAFSA — including various factors like income assets, family size, and where you live — to establish your SAI. Because your SAI can change each year, it is important to submit a FAFSA every aid year.
Your SAI is NOT what you are expected to contribute financially to your education. Depending on a lot of different factors - including things like how much merit-based aid you have earned - your out-of-pocket expenses for your education could be more or less than your SAI.
What your SAI really does is helps financial aid professionals determine how much financial need-based aid you are eligible to receive. Financial aid that is based on financial need may include - but is not limited to - things like grants, Federal Work-Study, or subsidized loans. Please note that some merit-based aid may also require students to have financial need, depending on criteria set by the provider of the aid.
Where Can You Find Your SAI?
Your SAI can be found on your FAFSA Submission Summary. Students who have already completed their 2024-2025 FAFSA and would like to access their Submission Summary may use the instructions found on the Learn About the FAFSA Submission Summary webpage.
To find your SAI:
- Go to the Federal Student Aid website
- Log in using your Federal Student Aid (FSA ID)
- Choose a method and follow the prompts to authenticate your account
- Accept the terms of usage (if it prompts you to do so)
- Make sure the tab you are on is for the correct aid year
- Scroll down to the "You can also" section
- Click on the link to "View or Print your FAFSA Submission Summary" (if you submitted or made corrections to your FAFSA within the past 72 hours, this may not be available yet)
- Your SAI will show on the top right of your FAFSA Submission Summary