Confused about FAFSA SAI -1500

I am working on my FAFSA and came across this term I'm not quite familiar with '-1500 SAI'. Can someone explain to me what it is and why is it important for my FAFSA?

Sure, I'd be happy to explain! The term '1500 SAI' refers to the Student Aid Index (SAI) and its possible negative value, which can go as low as -1500. SAI replaced the expected family contribution (EFC) in the FAFSA process.

SAI is a number used by colleges to calculate how much financial aid you may receive. When colleges determine the amount of financial aid you're eligible for, they subtract your SAI from their cost of attendance (COA). The result is your financial need.

The primary difference between SAI and the old EFC is that your SAI can be as low as -1500. The negative value, in this case -1500, means that you have more financial need than the cost of attendance, helping families with extreme financial hardship be recognized and qualify for more financial aid.

Another key difference to note is that unlike EFC, SAI is not divided based on the number of family members attending college. So, it no longer takes how many kids a family has in college into account. This might result in smaller financial aid packages for families with multiple students in college concurrently, since each student now gets treated individually.

So, your SAI is an important aspect of your FAFSA because it largely determines the size of your financial aid package. The lower the SAI, the higher your potential financial aid. But remember, each school may interpret your SAI a bit differently in their own financial aid process.