FAFSA deadlines for 2025-2026 first-time applicants with college freshman

Welcome to the group! You're definitely not too late for the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The federal deadline isn't until June 30, 2026, but your state and college deadlines are much earlier. Most colleges want the FAFSA completed by early spring for maximum aid consideration. The SAI (Student Aid Index) replaced the old EFC calculation. It's a number that determines your daughter's aid eligibility - lower is better. Since you file taxes separately, you'll both need to report your income information. I'd recommend: 1. Create FSA IDs for both you and your daughter at studentaid.gov 2. Gather your 2023 tax returns and W-2s (that's the tax year for 2025-26 FAFSA) 3. Check your specific college's priority deadline 4. Set aside 1-2 hours to complete the application together Don't worry - you've got time, but don't delay too much longer!

your not to late but u need to HURRY!!! my son almost lost his housing last year bc we waited to long. the deadlines are CRAZY different for each school. some want it in february!! check your daughters school RIGHT NOW

Just to clarify what others have said: while the federal deadline is June 30, 2026, many colleges have "priority deadlines" which are much earlier, typically between January and March. Meeting these earlier deadlines makes your daughter eligible for more institutional aid (grants and scholarships from the college itself). Regarding your tax situation, since you're married filing separately, both parents' income and assets must be reported regardless. And yes, both you and your wife need separate FSA IDs since you'll both need to sign the FAFSA digitally. Your daughter's income will count, but there's a student income protection allowance (around $7,600), so if she earned less than that, it likely won't impact aid significantly. One tip: When completing the FAFSA, you can add up to 10 colleges at once, so you can send to all three schools she's considering.

Anyone else notice that the 2025-2026 FAFSA is COMPLETELY different than previous years?? I did FAFSA for my older kid 3 years ago and now it's totally unfamiliar. They got rid of the EFC and now use some SAI thing? And the website keeps crashing on me! I thought they were supposed to make this easier not harder!

I went through this last year with my son and the call center wait times to reach someone at FSA were INSANE. We had a question about reporting my husband's business income and couldn't get through for weeks. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get an agent callback within 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Totally worth it when you have specific questions the website doesn't answer clearly. Especially with the new FAFSA having so many changes.

my advice - start the fafsa NOW even if u dont finish it. the system is glitchy and sometimes kicks u out. better to do it in sections than lose all ur progress. and SAVE after every page!!!!

In response to your latest question about the 529 plan - that's actually good news! Under the new FAFSA rules, 529 plans owned by grandparents are no longer reported as assets and distributions aren't counted as untaxed income to the student. This is a positive change from previous years. And yes, you can absolutely save the FAFSA and come back to it. There's a save button at the bottom of each page. You'll create a save key when you first start, so just remember that code. Also, when you're listing colleges, remember that order used to matter in some states, but with the new FAFSA, the order no longer impacts aid offers. You can list up to 10 schools initially and add more later if needed.

You've hit on an important point. If 2023 doesn't reflect your normal financial situation due to a one-time bonus, job loss, medical expenses, etc., you can request a "Professional Judgment" review (sometimes called an income appeal or special circumstances review). Here's how it works: 1. Complete the FAFSA using the required 2023 tax information initially 2. After receiving aid offers, contact each college's financial aid office directly 3. Ask about their professional judgment process - each school has their own forms 4. Provide documentation of the special circumstance (proof of the one-time bonus) 5. The financial aid office can then adjust your SAI calculation Important: This process happens at the college level, not the federal level. Different schools may make different adjustments based on the same information.

Make sure u get the FSA IDs set up early!!!! It can take up to 3 days for them to verify everything and u cant do ANYTHING without them. My son waited till last minute and missed his schools deadline cause of this

Just wanted to add one more helpful tip for first-time FAFSA families - make sure to check if your state has additional aid programs that use the FAFSA data. Some states have their own grant programs with even earlier deadlines than colleges! Also, don't forget about the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) when you're filling out the FAFSA. If you've already filed your 2023 taxes, this tool can automatically pull your tax information directly from the IRS, which reduces errors and speeds up processing. It's usually available 2-3 weeks after e-filing your taxes. You're doing great by starting now - having that buffer time really makes a difference when technical issues pop up or if you need to gather additional documents. Your daughter is lucky to have such a proactive parent helping navigate this process!