Understanding Your Student Aid Report (SAR)

After completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR). This document provides a summary of the information you submitted and an estimate of your eligibility for federal financial aid. While the SAR itself is not a financial aid award letter, it's a crucial step in the financial aid process. School financial aid officers use the SAR to make financial aid offers. This article will guide you through the key components of the SAR and how to interpret them.

What is the Student Aid Report?

The Student Aid Report summarizes the information you reported on the FAFSA. It's not a financial aid offer, but rather an estimate of how much federal money you can receive for higher education and what your family is expected to contribute. The SAR estimates what schools should provide you and what your family is expected to provide. The SAR informs you whether you may be eligible for a Pell Grant and estimates an award amount. Like all other funds, whether and how much of a Pell Grant you may receive depends on individual schools. Need-based Pell Grants are the largest single fund for undergraduates.

Accessing Your Student Aid Report

Student Aid Reports are generated quickly. Once a FAFSA application has been processed, a SAR is typically available to both the student and their chosen schools within a week. Students can access SAR upon logging in to the same Federal Student Aid (FSA) account used to submit FAFSA. The FAFSA Submission Summary can be found on the Dashboard of your StudentAid.gov account after your FAFSA form is submitted and processed.

Key Components of the SAR

Several key elements within the SAR require careful attention:

Data Release Number (DRN)

The four-digit Data Release Number (DRN) appears on the first page of the SAR. You’ll need to share this number if you want to authorize your school to amend your FAFSA. You'll also need to have your DRN handy if you need to change your address.

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Student Aid Index (SAI)

You will find the SAI on page 1, underneath the date near the top right of your SAR. Formerly known as the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), this number will now represent a student’s eligibility aid index, which financial aid offices will then use to determine financial aid packages. The SAI is an index number used by your school to determine your financial aid eligibility and to build your financial aid offer. Remember that your SAI is not the amount of money that you or your family is expected to pay for school. The amount that you receive could be less than, more than, or equal to your SAI.

The federal processor uses its own formula when calculating SAI, based on your financial situation. However, not all colleges use the government's methodology when calculating SAI; many colleges use their own formula instead (often referred to as institutional methodology) to determine financial need. The methodology your college uses may influence how your SAI is calculated, resulting in a final SAI that is different from the one posted on your SAR.

Pell Grant Eligibility

The SAR Acknowledgement letter informs you of Pell Grant eligibility, near the bottom of the text. Keep in mind that the Standard Aid Index is not necessarily the amount you will receive in financial aid. Instead, the figure represents the amount the government believes you would be eligible for, based on your family's income, assets, and other factors. Don't be surprised if you do not qualify for Pell Grants. Most students do not. This is a grant given to low-income families and it is very difficult to meet the standards required to receive one.

Loan Summary

You will find the loan summary on page 4, top half of the page. If you are a continuing student and have outstanding federal student loans, the SAR will include a portion that details your balance and repayment schedule. If you have any outstanding federal student loans, they will be listed on this page. Review the loans listed and make sure they are correct. If you want to review your outstanding loans in greater detail, you can visit the National Student Loan Data System. You will need the same FSA ID you used to sign your FAFSA to access your loan information. If you have no federal loans, then there is no need to review this section.

Verification

If there is an asterisk next to your SAIt means that your SAR has been flagged for verification. You will also be informed of having been selected for verification in the SAR Acknowledgement letter, which will be included with your SAR documents. If your SAR has been selected for verification, it means that you may have to show additional financial documentation to your college in order to qualify for federal aid.

The federal processor has many automatic triggers in place to flag data discrepancies for verification. Sometimes the processor finds a mistake or conflicting data; other times, it may flag an SAR with data that is not reflective of a "typical" family. Verification doesn't mean you have done anything wrong. It affects about 30% of all SARs and is a relatively routine request.

You may have to fill out a Verification Worksheet, which you can obtain from your college's financial aid office. In all likelihood, you will have to provide supporting documentation (e.g., tax returns, W-2, etc.). Because so much aid is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, it is very important that this step be completed in a timely manner.

Correcting Errors on Your SAR

It is important that you check over your information on the last few pages of the SAR to make sure it's correct. Changes can be made on pages 5 through 10. These pages give you a chance to correct any information that sent incorrectly the first time you filed your FAFSA. If you need to make any corrections, there are online tools to help resolve issues. If everything checks out, keep a copy of the SAR for your records. Then, wait to receive financial aid award offers from schools.

Log in to the same Federal Student Aid (FSA) account used to submit FAFSA to find a digital copy of your SAR and make any changes. The system should flag any errors or omissions. It tells you how much federal and state money you could get for school and whether you are likely to receive a Pell Grant. Make any necessary changes as soon as possible. You can make changes to your processed FAFSA in the space provided, or you make changes online. Be sure to correct estimated information, if you are able to do so.

Note that the FAFSA is meant to be a "snapshot" of your situation when you originally signed it. Therefore, even if your financial or marital situation has changed since you originally signed the FAFSA, such information should not be changed when reviewing your SAR. Make sure that you (and your parents if you are a dependent student) sign the corrections before submitting them back to the federal processor. To electronically sign a corrected FAFSA, you will need your FSA ID.

Online, you can add missing signatures, correct mistakes, add or remove a school, and update contact info.

Appealing for More Aid

If the amount of aid quoted in your SAR seems low, verify the information you submitted on the FAFSA is accurate. If everything is correct, then it’s still possible to negotiate for more. You can appeal to the financial aid offices of the colleges where you have been accepted. Both consider need- and merit-based appeals and may have criteria for special circumstances, such as loss of income, medical expenses, or natural disasters. If you’ve experienced an event in your life that affects your ability to pay for school and is not accurately reflected on your FAFSA form, you’ll need to contact the financial aid office at your school to make sure they know about it. This could be something like you (or a contributor) lost a job, or your marital status changed. At this time, schools are unable to update your FAFSA Submission Summary to reflect these types of circumstances.

Understanding the FAFSA Submission Summary

The FAFSA Submission Summary has replaced the Student Aid Report (SAR). This is the new document that students and parents can access once their FAFSA has been submitted and processed. The FASFA Submission Summary is not a financial aid package. While the federal government has its own formulas for determining financial aid, so do schools, meaning that the figures that you see on a FAFSA Submission Summary are just estimates. The FAFSA Submission Summary also provides more information. This includes an Eligibility Overview, a review of your FAFSA Form Answers, School Information, and Next Steps.

The “Eligibility Overview” tab on the FAFSA Submission Summary provides important information that can help you understand the aid you may receive from your school. The aid amounts listed on this tab are estimates based on the information you provided on your FAFSA form and aren’t guaranteed to be offered by your school. The “Eligibility Overview” tab will also list your confirmed Student Aid Index (SAI), which is an index number used by your school to determine your financial aid eligibility and to build your financial aid offer.

On the “FAFSA Form Answers” tab of your FAFSA Submission Summary, you’ll see the answers you and your contributor(s) provided on your FAFSA form. You can also double-check the schools you selected to send your FAFSA information to and whether you digitally signed your form.

If you’re a first-year undergraduate, career school, or trade school student, you may see a “lower earnings” alert on your FAFSA Submission Summary. The “lower earnings” alert provides greater transparency for how your school choice may affect your real-world earnings. Earnings are just one factor to consider when comparing schools.

On the final “Next Steps” tab of the FAFSA Submission Summary, you may see comments based on your FAFSA information, including next steps you should take. The comments may be informational or they may ask you to take important actions, such as making a correction or sending additional documentation to your school. Make sure to check if any corrections are required for your FAFSA® form. If you’ve been selected for verification, you’ll see a note in the “Next Steps” section of your FAFSA Submission Summary.

Seeking Further Assistance

When it comes to actually receiving funds, direct questions to schools. Contact school financial aid offices about available grants, loans, and programs. You can also reach out to the schools you applied to ask questions on submitted information for accuracy.

On the right side of your FAFSA Submission Summary, you’ll find important information and resources to help you see an overview of your school choice and potential financial aid package. Keep in mind there are limits to the amount of loans you can receive in your lifetime, so you can see how much you’ve already received. Under the “Find the Right College or Career School” box, you can select a link to visit College Scorecard. This tool helps you compare schools by cost, graduation rate, median earnings by degree, and more.

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