Student Aid Index (SAI)

The FAFSA Simplification Act, which was passed by Congress in 2020, represents a significant overhaul of the processes and systems used to award federal student aid. With the FAFSA Simplification Act, beginning with the 2024-2025 award year, the Student Aid Index (SAI) will replace the Expected Family Contribution, (EFC) a measure previously used to calculate a student's financial need.

The Student Aid Index (SAI) is an eligibility index number used by a college’s financial aid office to determine federal aid eligibility. This number results from the information provided on your FAFSA® form.

Many factors, including a family’s Federal Tax Information (FTI), assets and household size are used to determine the SAI.

The SAI is not a dollar amount of aid eligibility or what your family is expected to provide or pay for college. A negative SAI indicates the student has a higher financial need.

The SAI is used to determine eligibility for certain federal and state student aid, such as Federal Pell Grant and Mass Grant. Suffolk also uses the SAI in conjunction with the Cost of Attendance (COA) to determine financial need and eligibility for institutional funding.

Your SAI will be listed on your FAFSA Submission Summary, and will be available after completing your FAFSA.