GEGI can estimate the Student Aid Index (SAI) using a simplified version of the formulas published by Federal Student Aid in the "Student Aid Index (SAI) and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide." Its primary goal is to help financial aid advisors prepare a preliminary FA estimate before a student’s ISIR is received.


The Estimate SAI action is available on the student’s Financial Details page. The calculated value is saved to the Estimated SAI field and updated each time the tool is used:



How the Calculation Works


The SAI calculation runs in steps. GEGI selects the appropriate formula automatically based on the student’s dependency status, determined from the date of birth in lead details and the family information entered in Step 1:



On Step 2, the income and asset information is requested:

  • Dependent students: enter the parents’ total annual income, annual child support received, total assets, number of parents in the household, and age of the older parent. 
  • Independent students: enter the student’s (and spouse’s, if married) total annual income, annual child support received, and total assets.
Note: For married independent students, enter the combined household income and total assets for both the student and spouse.


Step 3 is for dependent students only: enter the student’s total annual income and total assets.


Finally, Step 4 displays the estimated Student Aid Index and the full calculation worksheet. The SAI is saved to the student’s profile automatically.



Settings


The SAI estimation requires two sets of tables configured in Financial Aid → Settings.


SAI Tax Year Settings stores the federal tax data used to estimate the income tax. GEGI uses the latest available tax year when running the calculation. 




SAI Award Year Settings stores the formula-specific values and lookup tables used in the SAI calculation, including income and asset protection allowances, payroll tax rates, employment expense allowance, and contribution assessment tables. These tables are populated based on the "Student Aid Index (SAI) and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide" for each corresponding award year.