Welcome to NASFAA's Student Aid Index Modeling Tool. This tool is intended to allow institutions to model how the recent changes to the Federal Methodology (FM) Expected Family Contribution (EFC) formula — which has been renamed the Student Aid Index (SAI) and is expected to be fully implemented for the 2024-25 award year — will impact student need and, consequently, financial aid budgets on their campuses. The model will also estimate the student's Pell Grant award under the provisions of the FAFSA Simplification Act.

Modeling Tool Resources

Student Aid Index Modeling Tool: Version 9.1 (Tables Adjusted for Inflation)
This version of the SAI modeling tool is intended for use with 2023-24 student data. It updates values for the Income Protection Allowance (IPA), Employment Expense Allowance, Business/Farm Net Worth Adjustment, Asset Protection Allowance (APA), and Contribution from Adjusted Available Income tables based on the Department of Education’s final Pell Eligibility and SAI Guide. Version 9 was originally posted on January 31 and updated to v9.1 on February 2 to fix a small issue with the employment expense allowance to increase it by $30. Please note: this is a large file and may take a few minutes to download. 

Instructions for manually updating inflation-adjusted tables into an earlier version of the Student Aid Index Modeling Tool
For institutions that have already loaded student data into an earlier version of the model and wish to update the formulas themselves instead of re-loading student data into version 9.0, NASFAA provides these step-by-step instructions on how to make the necessary changes to the SAI modeling tool formulas. 

Student Aid Index Modeling Tool: Version 8.1 (for 2023-24 data) (.xlsx)
This Excel workbook contains calculations for up to 10,000 students. Download the workbook to your computer or a networked drive prior to adding student data. Please note: this is a large file and may take a few minutes to download.

November, 2023: Version 8.1 (for 2023-24 data)

• • Updates error on Student Data tab that did not contain formulas for columns A-G beginning at row 235, resulting in inaccurate results across all later tabs.

Student Aid Index Modeling Tool Instructions: Version 8.0 (.pdf)
We encourage you to download and review our modeling tool instructions prior to importing your data into the modeling tool. This document contains model caveats, assumptions, limitations, and instructions for importing your data and interpreting your results. Any updates to the model made after the original publication date (November 2021) will be reflected in the instructions.

Student Aid Index Modeling Tool Sample (.xlsx)
This document contains sample data to allow you to see how the outputs of the model look once data is imported. This file will download to your computer as a Microsoft Excel file. This sample worksheet does not contain changes we have made over the past year. Do not delete the sample data from this file and import your own data. Please use only our modeling tool, linked below, to import your data.

Student Aid Index Modeling Tool Instructions For Institutions With More Than 10,000 Students
This tool can accommodate up to 10,000 student records. If you have more than 10,000 student records, you must copy the formulas to the number of data rows you require. Follow these instructions to copy and paste formulas.

Student Aid Index Modeling Tool Feedback Form
If, after uploading your institution's data into this modeling tool, you encounter unexpected results and/or find possible errors please complete this feedback form and a member of the NASFAA Policy and Federal Relations Team will follow-up with you within 5 - 7 business days. Please do not email your data file to NASFAA. We appreciate your feedback.

Student Aid Index Modeling Tool User Group
If you are using the SAI Modeling Tool and want peer support, we are putting together an SAI Modeling Tool User Group. Please fill out the interest form, and we will get you added to the user community in 3-5 business days.

Questions

Questions regarding the model may be directed to NASFAA's Research Department at [email protected]. Please note, NASFAA is unable to assist individual institutions in interpreting their results.

Acknowledgments

This work is generously sponsored by a grant from Strada Education Foundation.

NASFAA thanks Alisa Federico Cunningham for her extensive work in developing, testing, and finalizing this model and NASFAA's FAFSA Simplification Implementation Working Group for their feedback, testing, and overall input on this model throughout its development. We also extend our thanks to all the institutions that participated in the testing of this model and provided vital feedback.