EFC / SAI Calculator

Estimate your Student Aid Index (formerly EFC) — what the federal formula thinks your family can pay. Pick a school to see the gap between sticker price and your SAI.

State

School (autofills cost of attendance)

Annual cost of attendance: tuition + fees + room + board + books. Published 2025-26 figures.

Cost of Attendance — per year ($)

Family financials

Parents' Adjusted Gross Income — last year ($)

Line 11 on Form 1040. Pre-tax household income.

Parents' assets ($)

Checking, savings, investments, vacation homes. Excludes retirement accounts (401k, IRA), primary home equity, small businesses (<100 employees).

Household size

Parents + dependents living in the home + this student.

Student's earned income — last year ($)

Student's assets ($)

Custodial accounts (UTMA/UGMA) count here at a punishing 20%. Roth IRA balance does NOT count.

Estimated SAI (your family's expected contribution)

$8,000

Rough estimate from the federal SAI formula. The actual number requires FAFSA.

Cost of Attendance

$28K

Demonstrated Need

$20K

Pell Grant eligible?

Maybe

What this means

Number	What it is
Your SAI	$8,000
School's annual price (COA)	$28,000
Demonstrated financial need	$20,000
If school meets 100% of need (rare)	~$8,000
If school meets 70% of need (typical)	~$14,000
If school meets 50% of need (typical state schools)	~$18,000

"Net cost" assumes the school meets the listed % of need. Public schools typically meet 50-80%. Top-endowed privates (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Amherst, Williams, Pomona, Bowdoin, etc.) often meet 100% — and use only grants for low-income families.

Caveats — this is an estimate The federal SAI formula has many more lines than this calculator (state tax allowance, income protection by household size, multi-child-in-college, business income, divorced-parent rules, etc.). The actual SAI comes from FAFSA at studentaid.gov. Schools that use the CSS Profile (most top privates) compute their own number — often higher than federal SAI because they count home equity and retirement assets.

What to do with this number 1. File FAFSA as soon as it opens for the next year (Oct 1). Even if you think you make too much. 2. If SAI < COA, you have demonstrated need — apply where the aid is. 3. Compare schools by NET cost, not sticker. A "$50K private" with great aid often costs less than a "$28K state school" with little. 4. Don't let high earners hide assets in 529s in the student's name — student-owned 529s hit at 20%; parent-owned at 5.64%.