Ok so I emailed SAIS asking them if there's any potential way I could be placed on a waitlist for funding and this is what they wrote. I'm out of of the running for SAIS but maybe it'll help current or future people who are considering SAIS. Good luck!
Congratulations on your admission to SAIS!
Your application was quite competitive. However, funding limitations prevent us from providing fellowship awards to all of our admitted students. This year, we awarded approximately 30% of the incoming class with fellowship assistance.
Although we would like to provide assistance to every admitted student, our funds are limited. We use a multiplier to award aid expecting that some students will decline our offer of admission so we do not have a second round of first-year fellowship awards. As a result, all fellowship decisions are final.
Students are eligible to apply for additional fellowships in their second year however. The Financial Aid Committee looks at first year academic performance and aims to award 50-60% of second year students with fellowship assistance.
Should you have any questions about the financial aid process or if you would like to meet with a SAIS Financial Aid representative, please let us know. We would be more than happy to meet with you.