Decoding The FAFSA Student Aid Report (SAR)

Congratulations, you have successfully filed your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and have received your Student Aid Report (SAR). Once you have completed the FAFSA, Federal Student Aid processes your application and sends you a Student Aid Report (SAR). On your Student Aid Report (SAR), you will receive an official Expected Family Contribution (EFC) based on the results of the information you provided on your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The EFC is an initial estimate based on the information you provided on your FAFSA application, and will be used by your school(s) to determine your eligibility for federal student aid. In order to correctly understand your Student Aid Report (SAR), you will need to know what all the acronyms on your Student Aid Report (SAR) stand for. Please view “Decoding The FAFSA Student Aid Report (SAR)” below:

Decoding The FAFSA Student Aid Report (SAR):

APA: Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowance
PCA: Parents Contribution from Assets
AAI: Adjusted Available Income
TPC: Total Parents Contribution
ATI: Allowances Against Total Income
STX: State and Other Tax Allowance
EA: Employment Allowance
IPA: Income Protection Allowance
TSC: Total Student’s Contribution
PC: Parents Contribution
SIC: Dependent Student’s Income Contribution
SCA: Dependent Student’s Contribution from Assets
EFC: Expected Family Contribution
TI: Total Income
CAI: Contribution from Available Income
DNW: Discretionary Net Worth

For more information on federal student loans and federal financial aid for college, please view our Federal Student Loans section.