It’s here but…
The FAFSA is theoretically available now but the site is experiencing technical difficulties. Then again, if you and your student haven’t created FSA IDs, it doesn’t matter so go do that now.
Remember that the first F in FAFSA is Free, so if you’re on a site that’s charging you money to access or file, you’re in the wrong place. If you google “FAFSA” you’ll get a bunch of commercial sites mixed in with the Department of Ed site. For the real deal, make sure you’re on a site with .ed.gov. And be prepared to wait….
There are 2 comments
What is your opinion on doing the FAFSA as soon as possible vs waiting to do it after you have paid spring semester?
It depends on why you’re doing the FAFSA. If you want to be considered for need-based aid, sooner is generally better because many funds are first come, first served. If you only want access to loans, then you can fill it out at any point up until the deadline. Assuming your assets will go down quite a bit once you pay for spring semester, and that since you’re talking about paying for spring semester you already know where you sit on the financial aid scale, you might be better off waiting. Especially since the asset protection allowance is so much lower this year.