Fafsa Sai Calculator

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FAFSA Student Aid Index (SAI) Estimator

Dependent Independent

Student Information

Single Married

Parent Information (for Dependent Students)

Household Information

Understanding Your Student Aid Index (SAI)

The Student Aid Index (SAI) is a number that colleges use to determine how much federal student aid you are eligible to receive. It's calculated based on the financial information you provide on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

A lower SAI generally indicates a higher financial need and can lead to more grant aid, while a higher SAI suggests less financial need. The SAI can be a negative number, down to -1,500, which signifies the highest level of financial need.

This calculator provides an estimate of your SAI based on simplified formulas and general FAFSA principles. The actual FAFSA calculation is complex and uses specific tables and rules that can change annually. Therefore, this estimate should be used for planning purposes only and does not guarantee your official SAI or aid eligibility.

Key Factors in SAI Calculation:

  • Student Income and Assets: Your (the student's) income and assets are assessed at a higher rate than parental contributions.
  • Parent Income and Assets: For dependent students, parental income and assets are significant factors.
  • Household Size: The number of people in your household affects income protection allowances.
  • Number of College Students: While the new FAFSA no longer divides the SAI by the number of students in college, the number of students in college still impacts the parent income protection allowance.

Example Calculation:

Let's consider a dependent student with the following details:

  • Student AGI: $5,000
  • Student Untaxed Income: $0
  • Student Assets: $1,000
  • Parent AGI: $70,000
  • Parent Untaxed Income: $0
  • Parent Assets: $20,000
  • Household Size: 4
  • College Students: 1
  • Student Marital Status: Single

Using the simplified logic:

  1. Student Contribution:
    • Student Total Income: $5,000
    • Student Income Protection Allowance (Dependent): $9,410
    • Student Available Income: Max(0, $5,000 – $9,410) = $0
    • Student Contribution from Income: $0 * 50% = $0
    • Student Available Assets: $1,000
    • Student Contribution from Assets: $1,000 * 20% = $200
    • Total Student Contribution: $0 + $200 = $200
  2. Parent Contribution:
    • Parent Total Income: $70,000
    • Parent Income Protection Allowance (Family of 4, 1 in college, simplified): ~$30,000
    • Parent Available Income: Max(0, $70,000 – $30,000) = $40,000
    • Parent Contribution from Income: $40,000 * 22% = $8,800
    • Parent Asset Protection Allowance (Simplified): $15,000
    • Parent Available Assets: Max(0, $20,000 – $15,000) = $5,000
    • Parent Contribution from Assets: $5,000 * 7% = $350
    • Total Parent Contribution: $8,800 + $350 = $9,150
  3. Estimated SAI: $200 (Student) + $9,150 (Parent) = $9,350

This example demonstrates how different components contribute to the final SAI estimate.

function toggleParentFields() { var dependencyStatus = document.getElementById('dependencyStatus').value; var parentFieldsDiv = document.getElementById('parentFields'); if (dependencyStatus === 'independent') { parentFieldsDiv.style.display = 'none'; // Clear parent fields if hidden document.getElementById('parentAGI').value = '0'; document.getElementById('parentUntaxedIncome').value = '0'; document.getElementById('parentAssets').value = '0'; } else { parentFieldsDiv.style.display = 'block'; } } function calculateSAI() { // Get input values var studentAGI = parseFloat(document.getElementById('studentAGI').value); var studentUntaxedIncome = parseFloat(document.getElementById('studentUntaxedIncome').value); var studentAssets = parseFloat(document.getElementById('studentAssets').value); var parentAGI = parseFloat(document.getElementById('parentAGI').value); var parentUntaxedIncome = parseFloat(document.getElementById('parentUntaxedIncome').value); var parentAssets = parseFloat(document.getElementById('parentAssets').value); var householdSize = parseInt(document.getElementById('householdSize').value); var collegeStudents = parseInt(document.getElementById('collegeStudents').value); var studentMaritalStatus = document.getElementById('studentMaritalStatus').value; var dependencyStatus = document.getElementById('dependencyStatus').value; var resultDiv = document.getElementById('result'); // Input validation if (isNaN(studentAGI) || isNaN(studentUntaxedIncome) || isNaN(studentAssets) || isNaN(parentAGI) || isNaN(parentUntaxedIncome) || isNaN(parentAssets) || isNaN(householdSize) || isNaN(collegeStudents) || studentAGI < 0 || studentUntaxedIncome < 0 || studentAssets < 0 || parentAGI < 0 || parentUntaxedIncome < 0 || parentAssets < 0 || householdSize < 1 || collegeStudents 1) { parentIPA += (collegeStudents – 1) * 2000; // Small adjustment for each additional student } var parentAvailableIncome = Math.max(0, parentTotalIncome – parentIPA); var parentContributionFromIncome = parentAvailableIncome * parentIncomeContributionRate; var parentAvailableAssets = Math.max(0, parentAssets – parentAssetProtectionAllowance); var parentContributionFromAssets = parentAvailableAssets * parentAssetContributionRate; totalParentContribution = parentContributionFromIncome + parentContributionFromAssets; } // 3. Calculate Total SAI var totalSAI = totalStudentContribution + totalParentContribution; // SAI cannot be less than -1500 totalSAI = Math.max(-1500, totalSAI); // Display result resultDiv.style.display = 'block'; resultDiv.style.backgroundColor = '#e9f7ef'; resultDiv.style.borderColor = '#28a745'; resultDiv.style.color = '#28a745'; resultDiv.innerHTML = 'Your Estimated Student Aid Index (SAI): $' + totalSAI.toFixed(0).replace(/\B(?=(\d{3})+(?!\d))/g, ",") + ''; } // Initialize parent fields visibility on load window.onload = toggleParentFields;

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