FAFSA Open NOW!

In a surprising turn of events, the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) which was not supposed to open until December 1st has been fully released early and is now available for students and parents to complete and submit.

A few reminders:

1. This is a FREE application.  You do not need, nor should you, pay for someone to complete the FAFSA for you.

2. The link to complete the FAFSA is: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa and you will be filling out the version for 2025-26.

3. Each student and parent will require their own FSA ID in order to sign the and submit the FAFSA application.  Here is the link to request your FSA ID: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch

4. Every college will have their own financial aid deadlines when they will ask for you to have your FAFSA submitted.  Submitting your information in a timely manner and ahead of the deadlines is your best way to make sure you have a chance to be considered for all of the financial help that you might qualify for from the colleges.

5. There are a lot of students and families who "know" that they won't qualify for money through the FAFSA and you may wonder why we say you should still fill out the FAFSA.  The reason is that there are some scholarships at various colleges that are only considered after need based aid has been distributed.  If you haven't completed the FAFSA to determine what, if any, need based aid you would qualify for then they can't look at you for those other merit based scholarships.  So it can be helpful to fill it out for that reason.  Additionally, even if you don't qualify for grants, filling out the FAFSA will make it possible for you to be able to decide if you want to take out federal student loans to help pay for your college costs.

6. It will take you about an hour to fill out the FAFSA.  So just relax, be patient and take it step by step.  You can totally do this and it will feel so good to have it done and out of the way!