Use the SAI from your processed FAFSA Submission Summary. This calculator cannot infer it from income, assets or dependency status. Results and PDF are unavailable until you enter an SAI.

Financial Aid Estimator

Explore remaining-need arithmetic using entered cost of attendance, reported FAFSA SAI and school-countable other financial assistance.

School-period planning inputs

The starting values are an illustrative example. Replace them with your school's COA, your reported FAFSA SAI and the OFA your school counts. No aid award is estimated here.

Reported FAFSA SAI

Cost of attendance (COA)

$0$1,000,000

Reported Student Aid Index (SAI)

-1,500999,999

School-countable other financial assistance (OFA)

$0$1,000,000

Remaining-need planning amount

$25,000.00

COA − max(SAI, 0) − OFA; remaining need is at least zero

Entered SAI

10,000

Index, not a cash payment

Applied SAI for packaging

10,000

Index, not a cash payment

Cost of attendance (COA)

$35,000.00

USD for the school's enrollment period

School-countable other financial assistance (OFA)

$0.00

USD for the school's enrollment period

Signed arithmetic residual

$25,000.00

COA − max(SAI, 0) − OFA; remaining need is at least zero

Comparison of entered cost, assistance and remaining need

Cost of attendance (COA): $35,000.00
School-countable other financial assistance (OFA): $0.00
Remaining-need planning amount: $25,000.00

Entered amounts and calculation
Term	Value
Cost of attendance (COA)	$35,000.00
Entered SAI	10,000
Applied SAI for packaging	10,000
School-countable other financial assistance (OFA)	$0.00
Signed arithmetic residual	$25,000.00
Remaining-need planning amount	$25,000.00

SAI replaced EFC in federal aid methodology. It is an index, not the amount your family must pay or an aid offer. Use the full reported SAI without prorating it; negative SAI is applied as zero in this general packaging calculation.

Enter COA and OFA for the same school enrollment period. OFA can include already awarded Pell and other aid when the school counts them; classification and program exceptions belong to the school. Personal wages or savings are not automatically OFA.

Dependency status is determined through FAFSA criteria. This calculator does not certify dependent or independent status, calculate SAI, divide it by students in college, or determine Pell, loan or Work-Study awards. Schools apply program rules and exceptions. A positive residual does not promise funding; a negative residual does not by itself establish an overaward or debt.

Calculations retain exact entered decimal values. Displayed USD amounts round half up to cents; tiny nonzero amounts use scientific notation. Separately rounded terms may not add to the rounded residual. SAI is an integer index. Bars use unrounded amounts; tooltips match results, and axis labels may use finer decimals. Bars compare dollar amounts, not a funding allocation; SAI is not plotted as cash.

Official definitions and packaging guidance: Federal Student Aid definitions https://studentaid.gov/articles/financial-aid-dictionary/; 2026–27 FSA packaging guidance https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2026-2027/2026-2027_Federal_Student_Aid_Handbook/_knowledge-center_fsa-handbook_2026-2027_vol3_ch3-packaging-aid.pdf.