Step 5: Understand SAI and Next Steps

After you submit your FAFSA, it will usually take 1-3 days to process (but sometimes more). Keep in mind that submitting the FAFSA does not mean that you’re done with the financial aid process! Read on to learn more. 

Once the application has been processed, you will receive a confirmation email with your Student Aid Index (SAI), which is a number calculated based on the financial information you provided on your FAFSA.  

Your SAI is calculated using the income, assets, and family size you reported on your FAFSA. The SAI is a number that ranges from -1500 to 999999. Lower numbers mean that you may be eligible for need-based aidAid (money) that is offered based on the student’s financial situation as calculated by the FAFSA or CASFA. Some selective colleges may use an additional financial aid application (CSS Profile) along with FAFSA or CASFA to determine financial need..

When you submit your FAFSA, colleges/universities will receive your SAI and decide how much financial aidIncludes grants, scholarships, and/or loans that are offered by a college to help a student cover the cost of attending that college. May be need-based or based on merit. they can offer you to attend their school. This will be different for each school. Financial aid may include federal aid (money that comes from the federal government), state aid (money that comes from the state government), and/or institutional aid (money that comes from the college). It is important to remember that your SAI does not tell you how much money you will receive – it gives colleges an idea of your financial situation so they can decide how much money to offer you.  

Review Your FAFSA Submission Summary 

When your FAFSA is processed, you will receive your Submission Summary, which you can access by logging in to your StudentAid.gov account. Review your Submission Summary to make sure that the correct year was submitted, you’ve listed all the colleges you’re considering, and to see whether there are any errors you need to correct. The FAFSA Submission Summary has four tabs: 

1. Eligibility Overview

This is where you can find your SAI and information about what federal aid you may be eligible for.

It will also tell you whether you are eligible for the Pell Grant, which is a federal grant given to students who have shown they need help paying for college based on family finances. The Pell Grant can be used at any school you choose to attend as long as that school participates in the Federal Student Aid program. The award amount may change from year to year, but iss $7,395 for students in school between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026.

2. FAFSA Form Answers

In this section, you can review your answers on the FAFSA and make sure everything is accurate. If you notice a mistake, you can log back into your account and make corrections. Do this as soon as possible!

3. School Information

You can view information about the colleges you included in your application and add more colleges if needed. Remember, if a college isn’t listed on your FAFSA, that college won’t create a financial aid offer for you.

4. Next Steps

This tab includes possible next steps for you to take, such as making corrections or sending additional documentation to a school as part of a process called verificationProcess where a financial aid asks you to provide more information (such as documentation to support the information you reported on FAFSA or CASFA) before giving you your financial aid offer.. It is important that you check your next steps so you do not miss out on getting financial aid.

Check Your College Student Portal(s) & Emails 

After your FAFSA has been processed, you will need to log into your student portalAn online platform where students can access various academic and administrative services related to their education, such as financial aid, class registration, and more. You can usually find your portal login instructions in your acceptance email or a follow-up email from the college. You may also find it in the acceptance package mailed to the address you provided on the application. for each college that you have been accepted to.

Sometimes colleges need more information before they can offer you financial aid. If this is the case, you will be able to tell by checking your student portal and/or college email address.  

If a college does request more information, it is important to submit the requested information or documents as soon as possible. It will likely take the college a couple of weeks (at least) to process information. Once the financial aid office has all the information they need, they will be able to give you a financial aid offerA document sent by a college to a student (via email or mail to the address listed on your FAFSA/CASFA) that shows the amounts and details of the financial aid being offered to the student, which may include scholarships, grants, loans, employment, or other forms of financial assistance to pay for college expenses. You may also see this referred to as a financial aid award or financial aid package..

When Should I Reach Out to the Financial Aid Office at my College? 

Students can contact Financial Aid at any time with questions or for help (most offices offer drop-in hours or appointments).  

Some students will need to reach out to the financial aid offices of colleges they want to attend based on their individual circumstances. This includes Students who were Independent on FAFSA (did not provide parent information because they are: in a legal guardianship, in foster care, experiencing homelessness, etc.) and students with special circumstances (such as if there was a significant change in income since the 2023 taxes were filed). Find the contact information for the financial aid offices by searching the college name and “financial aid office.”

Understanding Your Financial Aid Award Offer 

A financial aid award offer will usually show the cost of attendance as well as the amount and type of financial aid the college is offering you. Review this information to see how much it will cost you to go to the college. This tool is helpful in comparing how much each college will cost (make a copy of the document to be able to fill it out).