Understanding the Student Aid Index

The Student Aid Index replaced the Expected Family Contribution in the FAFSA overhaul. Like the old figure, it's an index used to calculate need — not a bill or a prediction of what you'll pay.

Unlike the old figure, the SAI can go as low as negative 1,500, which lets schools distinguish between families with no ability to pay and families with deep need beyond that.

Your need at a given school is cost of attendance minus SAI. That's why the same SAI produces very different aid at an expensive private college than at an in-state public.