FAFSA 2025-2026 delay until December - Early Decision impact?

Your counselor is correct - the FAFSA for the 2025-2026 academic year is delayed until December. The Department of Education announced they're still working out bugs from last year's formula changes and need more time to test the system. For Early Decision applicants, most colleges have already adjusted their financial aid deadlines to accommodate this delay. Your daughter should still submit her ED application by the November deadline, but the financial aid component will have a separate, later deadline. Check your specific school's financial aid website for their updated timeline - most are allowing FAFSA submission within 2-3 weeks after the form becomes available.

ya this is happening to all of us applying this cycle... super annoying but what can u do? my counselor said to just focus on getting the application in and worry about fafsa later when it opens. the schools know about the delay

The FAFSA delay is definitely frustrating, but it's important to understand that colleges are well aware of this issue and have adjusted their processes accordingly. For Early Decision specifically: 1. Most colleges have decoupled their financial aid deadlines from admission deadlines 2. The CSS Profile (if required by your school) is still available now 3. Some schools are allowing estimated financial information to be updated later 4. ED agreements typically have financial aid contingencies built in Make sure to download and complete any institutional financial aid forms the college may offer while waiting for FAFSA. Also, reach out directly to the financial aid office at your daughter's ED school - they may have school-specific guidance that would be helpful.

I'm in the same boat with my son applying ED to Northeastern. I just got off the phone with their financial aid office (took FOREVER to get through) and they said we need to submit CSS Profile by November 1, but they've moved the FAFSA deadline to January 15. They said if the aid package isn't enough, we can still back out of ED without penalty - it's in the fine print of the ED agreement. Hope this helps someone else!

THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!!! Last year my daughter applied early and the FAFSA was delayed until DECEMBER 30TH!!! Even after it opened, the system crashed constantly and we couldn't submit until JANUARY. Then they took MONTHS to process it. By the time we got the SAI score, it was almost MAY!!! The schools kept sending us emails about "missing FAFSA" even though it wasn't our fault! This whole system is designed to FAIL struggling families. And now they're doing it AGAIN!!! My advice? Start calling financial aid offices DIRECTLY and OFTEN. Document EVERYTHING. The online system is useless.

I work in college admissions (though not financial aid specifically). Just want to reassure everyone that colleges are VERY aware of the FAFSA delays and are making accommodations. No student will be disadvantaged in the admissions process due to these federal delays. For Early Decision applicants, you should still: 1. Submit your application materials by the deadline 2. Complete CSS Profile if required by your school 3. Submit FAFSA as soon as it becomes available The financial aid packages might come a bit later than usual, but this won't affect admission decisions. If the financial aid package makes the school unaffordable, ED agreements have provisions to release students without penalty.

when i was trying to call fafsa last year during the delays i was on hold for like 3 hours and then got disconnected!! happened like 4 times. i finally used this service called claimyr.com that held my place in line and called me back when an agent was available. saved me hours of waiting. they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ if anyone's interested. was super helpful when trying to figure out why our application was stuck in processing

wait so do we still need to do the css profile thing now??? or is that delayed too??

Just wanted to update that I called our school's financial aid office (took three tries to get through), and they were super helpful! They confirmed they've adjusted all their timelines because of the FAFSA delay. The financial aid counselor I spoke with said they're still hoping to release aid packages by February, and she took my contact info to follow up personally once FAFSA opens. So much relief knowing they're on top of this!

As someone who went through this exact situation last year with my oldest, I can confirm that while the delays are incredibly stressful, everything does work out in the end. My daughter applied ED to her top choice school in November 2023, and despite the FAFSA chaos that followed, she still received her financial aid package in time to make an informed decision about her ED acceptance. The key things that helped us were: 1) Staying in regular contact with the school's financial aid office, 2) Completing the CSS Profile on time, and 3) gathering all our tax documents early so we could submit FAFSA the moment it opened. The schools really do understand this isn't families' fault, and they've gotten much better at managing these delays since last year's disaster. Hang in there - your daughter's dreams aren't derailed by this federal incompetence!