Can my daughter apply for 2025-2026 FAFSA while still having unused Pell Grant funds?

You can absolutely apply for the 2025-2026 FAFSA now, even though your daughter still has Pell Grant funds remaining for Spring 2025! The two award years are completely separate. In fact, the earlier she applies for the new year, the better position she'll be in for maximum aid consideration. Many schools have priority deadlines for financial aid that are much earlier than the federal deadline.

My son had the same situation last year and we applied for the new FAFSA rightaway. It didn't effect his current money at all! Each year is seperate.

The 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 FAFSA applications are entirely separate systems. Your daughter should definitely apply for next year's FAFSA as soon as possible. The remaining Pell Grant from the current academic year has no impact on her eligibility for the following year. Remember that starting with the 2024-2025 FAFSA, they use the Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the old EFC. The formula calculation changed slightly, but if your financial situation is similar, her aid package should be comparable. Many schools have institutional priority deadlines as early as January or February, so applying early maximizes her chances for additional aid beyond just federal assistance.

To add a bit more detail - applying early is especially important for the 2025-2026 cycle. The Department of Education experienced significant delays with the rollout of the 2024-2025 FAFSA, so they're encouraging early submission for the next cycle to avoid similar bottlenecks. Your daughter's remaining Pell funds for Spring 2025 are already allocated in the system and won't impact her future eligibility in any way. Each FAFSA year stands alone.

OMG i was sooooo confused about this last year too!!! my advisor gave me wrong info and said i had to wait. ended up applying late and almost didnt get my full pell grant. DONT WAIT!!! The two years are completely separate

I work in a financial aid office, and I can confirm what others have said - the FAFSA years are completely separate, and unused aid from one year has zero impact on eligibility for the next. However, one thing not mentioned is that if you've been trying to contact the Federal Student Aid office with questions, you might be experiencing frustrating wait times. I've been recommending Claimyr (claimyr.com) to many of our students who need to speak with an FSA representative quickly. It helped several of our students resolve verification issues without the typical 2+ hour hold times. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works.

EVERYONE SAYS THEY'RE SEPARATE BUT LAST YEAR WHEN I APPLIED EARLY MY CURRENT AWARD GOT MESSED UP!!! Had to spend 4 weeks fixing it with the finaid office...just saying sometimes the systems DO conflict especially if ur school is using older software.

Oh and don't forget that the FAFSA is free!! My cousin paid a service $80 to "help" with her application but you don't need to pay anyone. Just go to studentaid.gov directly!

One final note: If your daughter's financial situation has remained consistent, she should still be eligible for similar Pell Grant funding. However, remember that the total Pell eligibility is limited to the equivalent of 12 semesters (or about 6 years) of funding throughout her undergraduate career. The system automatically tracks this, but it's good to be aware if she's planning to take more than 4 years to complete her degree.

does anyone know if they fixed those glitches from last years FAFSA? my parents had to retry like 6 times to get linked to the IRS data!!!!