On October 1, 2016, 2017–18 FAFSA becomes available. You can fill it out that day or any time through the federal deadline mentioned below.
- Midwinter—A lot of colleges and state higher education agencies look at your FAFSA to determine what financial aid they can offer you from their own funds? Most schools will have their own deadlines for the FAFSA. And your state may have a deadline that is even earlier than the school’s. Make sure you check your state deadline and each school’s deadline.
- By June 30, 2017—The federal deadline for the 2017–18 FAFSA. If you qualify for a Federal Pell Grant, you can apply this late and still get one.
- Some people don’t decide they’re going to college until after state and school deadlines have passed. Although, you probably won’t receive the maximum aid (since much of the state and school aid won’t be available to you), it’s still worth a shot to apply for federal dollars and to see what other aid might still be available. So definitely fill out a FAFSA.
Why You Should Fill Out the FAFSA ASAP
- A better chance of receiving more state and school aid. Schools and states have a limited amount of aid, and a bunch of states have a FAFSA deadline of “as soon as possible after October 1,” (meaning they actually could run out of financial aid).
- Get it out of the way so you can focus on college applications, college coursework, or applying for scholarships.
- If you submit your FAFSA early there’s a chance that colleges will give you an estimated financial aid offer early, giving you more time to compare colleges before the college decision deadline.
- More scholarship eligibility. Some scholarships look at your FAFSA results—and some of those scholarships have early deadlines. Don’t disqualify yourself from those scholarships.
In summary: fill out your 2017–18 FAFSA as soon as possible starting on October 1, 2016.