Financial Aid Calculator
Financial aid eligibility is based on a student's financial need, which is the difference between the college's Cost of Attendance (COA) and the student's Student Aid Index (SAI).
- The COA is based on tuition, fees, room, board, books, supplies, equipment, transportation to/from college and miscellaneous expenses.
- The SAI is based on the student and parent income and assets, family size, and other demographic factors.
This federal SAI is calculated based on the information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Most colleges use the federal SAI for awarding their own financial aid funds in addition to government aid. Fewer than 200 colleges use a supplemental form called the CSS PROFILE to calculate an institutional version of this measure to award aid granted by the school itself.
This calculator lets you estimate your child's SAI before you complete the FAFSA by answering a subset of the questions on the FAFSA. In most cases, a student with a lower SAI or higher COA will qualify for more financial aid. You can use the calculator to evaluate the impact of changes in income and assets on eligibility for need-based financial aid.
This calculator estimates SAI using the rules in place for the 2024-2025 school year, using a simplified version of the federal SAI formula.
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This 3rd party tool is provided to you by Columbia Threadneedle Investments and powered by Savingforcollege.com.
Use of this tool is at your own risk. The information displayed by the tool does not represent an investment recommendation or legal or tax advice. The information presented is hypothetical and for illustrative purposes only. Neither Savingforcollege.com nor Columbia Threadneedle Investments take any responsibility for its accuracy or completeness.
The information displayed is based on hypothetical figures which you have entered into the calculator and does not take into account any product related fees or expenses. If fees or expenses were included, returns would be lower. You should enter figures that are appropriate to your individual situation. The results provided by the calculators are intended for illustrative purposes only and accuracy is not guaranteed. They are not representative of any actual product or service. Individual results will vary. The information presented may be out-of-date or summarized incorrectly. Before making any investment decision you should thoroughly read and understand the current official program disclosure provided by the 529 plan and consult with your professional legal, tax, and investment advisers.
Please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Contact your financial advisor or visit www.columbiathreadneedle.com for a program description, which contains this and other important information about the Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan. Read it carefully before investing. You should also consider, before investing, whether the investor’s or designated beneficiary’s home state offers any state tax or other state benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds, and protection from creditors that are only available for investments in such state’s qualified tuition program.
Columbia Management Investment Distributors, Inc., member FINRA, is the distributor and underwriter for the Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan Financial Advisor Program. The Office of State Treasurer of South Carolina (the State Treasurer) administers the program and has selected Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. (CMIA) as program manager. CMIA and its affiliates are responsible for providing certain administrative, recordkeeping and investment services, and for the marketing of the program. CMIA is not affiliated with the State Treasurer.
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