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Your Estimated Results
Estimated Student Aid Index (SAI):–
Federal Pell Grant Eligibility:–
*This is an informal estimate. Your actual financial aid offer will be determined by the Department of Education and your college financial aid office.
Understanding the FAFSA Estimate and Your SAI
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the gateway to federal grants, work-study programs, and student loans. Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, the Department of Education replaced the "Expected Family Contribution" (EFC) with the Student Aid Index (SAI). This calculator helps you estimate that index to plan for college costs.
What is the Student Aid Index (SAI)?
The SAI is an eligibility index number that a college's financial aid office uses to determine how much federal student aid you would receive. It is calculated using information you provide on your FAFSA form, including your family's taxed and untaxed income, assets, and benefits.
How the Calculation Works
The estimate provided above uses several key factors mandated by federal formula:
Income Protection Allowance (IPA): A portion of your household income is shielded from the calculation to cover basic living expenses. For a family of four, this can be approximately $35,870 (varies by year).
Asset Contribution: Unlike income, assets are assessed at a lower rate. For parents, this is typically around 5.64% of "available" assets after an emergency reserve is deducted. Students are expected to contribute a higher percentage of their personal savings (20%).
Dependency Status: If you are under 24 and not married, a veteran, or a graduate student, you are usually considered a dependent, meaning parent financial data is required.
FAFSA Estimation Example
Consider a family of 4 with a household income of $60,000 and $10,000 in savings:
Discretionary Income: The formula subtracts the IPA and taxes from the $60,000.
Asset Assessment: The $10,000 in savings may be reduced by an asset protection allowance, with the remainder taxed at 5.64%.
Final SAI: If the resulting SAI is 1,500, and the college costs $30,000, the "Financial Need" is calculated as $28,500 ($30,000 – 1,500).
Pell Grant Eligibility
One of the main reasons to use a FAFSA estimate calculator is to check for Pell Grant eligibility. For the current cycle, students with an SAI between -1500 and 0 are typically eligible for the Maximum Pell Grant. As the SAI increases, the grant amount decreases until it reaches the cutoff point (usually around an SAI of 6,600 depending on the cost of attendance).
function calculateSAI() {
// Inputs
var depStatus = document.getElementById("dependencyStatus").value;
var pIncome = parseFloat(document.getElementById("parentIncome").value) || 0;
var sIncome = parseFloat(document.getElementById("studentIncome").value) || 0;
var pAssets = parseFloat(document.getElementById("parentAssets").value) || 0;
var sAssets = parseFloat(document.getElementById("studentAssets").value) || 0;
var hhSize = parseFloat(document.getElementById("householdSize").value) || 1;
var stateTaxRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById("stateTax").value) || 0.06;
// 1. Income Protection Allowance (Approximation based on 2024-25 tables)
// Base allowance for family of 4 is approx 35k
var ipa = 20000 + (hhSize * 4500);
// 2. Parental Contribution (PC) from Income
var pcIncome = 0;
if (depStatus === "dependent") {
var pAvailableIncome = pIncome – ipa – (pIncome * (0.12 + stateTaxRate)); // Simplified tax deduction
if (pAvailableIncome > 0) {
// Sliding scale roughly 22% to 47%
pcIncome = pAvailableIncome * 0.30;
}
}
// 3. Parental Contribution (PC) from Assets
var pcAssets = 0;
if (depStatus === "dependent") {
var pAvailableAssets = pAssets – 10000; // Simplified asset protection
if (pAvailableAssets > 0) {
pcAssets = pAvailableAssets * 0.0564;
}
}
// 4. Student Contribution (SC) from Income
// Students get a standard deduction/allowance of approx 9k
var scIncome = 0;
var sAvailableIncome = sIncome – 9410;
if (sAvailableIncome > 0) {
scIncome = sAvailableIncome * 0.50;
}
// 5. Student Contribution (SC) from Assets
var scAssets = sAssets * 0.20;
// Total SAI Calculation
var totalSAI = 0;
if (depStatus === "dependent") {
totalSAI = pcIncome + pcAssets + scIncome + scAssets;
} else {
// Independent logic simplified
var indIpa = 11000 + (hhSize * 5000);
var indAvailableIncome = (pIncome + sIncome) – indIpa – ((pIncome + sIncome) * 0.20);
totalSAI = (indAvailableIncome > 0 ? indAvailableIncome * 0.40 : 0) + ((pAssets + sAssets) * 0.20);
}
// Adjusting for SAI logic (can be negative down to -1500)
var finalSAI = Math.round(totalSAI);
if (finalSAI < -1500) finalSAI = -1500;
// Display
document.getElementById("resultArea").style.display = "block";
document.getElementById("saiValue").innerHTML = finalSAI.toLocaleString();
// Pell Eligibility Logic
var pellText = "Likely Not Eligible";
if (finalSAI 0 && finalSAI < 6656) {
pellText = "Partial Pell Grant Eligibility";
} else {
pellText = "Limited Federal Grant Eligibility";
}
document.getElementById("pellEligibility").innerHTML = pellText;
}