Like the end of summer, the FAFSA will be here before we know it. Here are a few things you need to know before you file.
The FAFSA will be available on Oct. 1. That doesn’t mean you need to— or even should— file it on Oct. 1. In fact, most people are better off NOT filing on Oct. 1. Who should file right away? Students who are eligible for any need-based aid that is allocated on a first come, first served basis. That is primarily state grants, though some colleges— especially those offering rolling admissions— allocate their aid this way.
Financial aid is allocated by colleges; the FAFSA merely determines your eligibility for it. Except as above, colleges do not need your FAFSA before they receive your application.
Important note: if you go to studentaid.gov, you will see a FAFSA there. Don’t fill it out— it’s last year’s FAFSA.
The FAFSA is not the tooth fairy. The FAFSA is just a tool that allows colleges to evaluate all applicants’ ability to pay on a consistent set of metrics. Having a low Student Aid Index does not guarantee you scholarships at the college of your choice.
What a college does with your FAFSA is more important than what you do with your FAFSA. Whether you save in a 529, UTMA, brokerage account or Roth IRA matters far less than whether or not the college you’re applying to meets full financial need through grants and scholarships only. Reducing countable assets by $10,000 will increase your financial aid eligibility by $564. Applying to a college that meets 100% of need instead of one that meets 75% or 50% or 0% could increase your aid eligibility by tens of thousands of dollars.
The most impactful planning window for this year’s FAFSA was two years ago. That’s not to say there’s nothing you can do now. It is to say that the biggest factor in financial aid eligibility is your income, and this fall’s FAFSA will use the income on your 2025 tax return. (If you’re the parent of a rising freshman or sophomore, this means that you ARE in that planning window— and we’ll be covering all the things you need to know about this in the coming weeks.)
You can’t file the FAFSA now but you can do a few things:
- Create your FSA ID. You’ll use this to log in and complete the FAFSA. FSA IDs are generated instantly now so you don’t have to do it in advance. However, if action feels good, now is a perfectly good time to do this. Studentaid.gov is where to do it.
- Do the Student Aid Estimator on the Department of Education website. This will help to determine if you are eligible for need-based aid. If your SAI is more than the Cost of Attendance at a college, you’re not; if it’s less, you are. If your SAI is waaaaaaay above the Cost of Attendance at the most expensive college you’re considering, you don’t need to bother with doing a bunch of gymnastics to squirrel your assets away.
- Do net price calculators for the colleges your student is interested in. This helps to answer the question of whether or not the college is likely to meet your financial need. You should be able to find the net price calculator on the college’s website; if not, just google [college name] net price calculator. If a college isn’t likely to offer enough aid to be affordable, now is a much better time to find an alternative than next March when your student has an acceptance letter in hand.
The other thing you can do right now? Enjoy your summer. Eat peaches and tomatoes, go to the beach, hang out with your kiddos. The days are long but the years are short— and chances are that if you’re reading this, you’re at the point where the years are getting really short.
Big news: My blog is moving to Substack! As a subscriber here, you’ll automatically be subscribed to the Substack version. Just be on the lookout for posts coming from a new email address. You can check it out here in the meantime.
