FAFSA decline causing chaos for 2026 college admissions - how to prepare?

You're right to be concerned. I've been helping students with college apps for years and this FAFSA situation is unprecedented. Here's what I recommend: 1. Complete the FAFSA immediately when it opens Oct 1st for 2026-2027 2. Also complete the CSS Profile for private colleges (it asks for different financial info than FAFSA) 3. Focus on colleges with good merit scholarship programs that don't rely solely on need-based aid 4. Have your daughter keep her GPA up - merit money will be competitive! 5. Consider applying to schools where she'd be in the top 25% of applicants The good news is colleges understand this mess isn't students' fault. Many are extending financial aid deadlines and working with families personally.

my brother went through this mess this year and HE STILL HASNT GOTTEN HIS AID PACKAGE from his top choice school!!! the deadline to decide is in like 2 WEEKS!!! hes probably gonna have to pick his safety school bc at least they sent him his financial info already. this whole system is garbage

As someone who works in college admissions, I can tell you schools are just as frustrated with the FAFSA issues as families are. The 27% decline you mentioned is absolutely concerning, but most institutions are preparing for next year's cycle by: - Increasing financial aid staffing - Creating contingency plans for processing delays - Developing more flexible deposit deadlines - Expanding scholarship consideration windows My advice? Start building relationships with financial aid offices at your daughter's target schools NOW. Ask about their specific procedures and how they're adjusting for the upcoming cycle. And remember that while FAFSA determines federal aid eligibility, individual schools often have their own institutional aid processes.

lol welcome to the wonderful world of government efficiency. not surprised at all that they managed to mess up something so basic. and next year will be worse!! 🙃

Friendly reminder that this FAFSA application delay is affecting MILLIONS of us right now!! And if you need to actually speak to someone at Federal Student Aid, good luck getting through on their phone lines. I spent 4+ hours on hold before getting disconnected TWICE last week trying to fix an issue with my son's SAI calculation. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that holds your place in the phone queue and calls you when an agent is ready. Saved me from wasting an entire day on hold! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Just passing this along since I know how frustrating this whole process is right now.

My daughter is also a junior and I'm equally concerned. Has anyone heard if they're keeping the new SAI formula for next year or making more changes? The new calculation really hurt our expected contribution even though our financial situation hasn't changed.

I'm in the same boat with my son who's a junior. Honestly, we're focusing more on state schools with guaranteed scholarship criteria now - at least those are predictable. If he maintains his GPA and ACT score, he automatically qualifies for X amount at our state universities regardless of whatever chaos is happening with federal aid. It's helped ease our anxiety a lot knowing there's at least one clear path forward.

I want to add some factual context here that might help ease some anxiety: 1. The 27% decline in FAFSA completion is largely due to technical problems and delayed form release - not because families suddenly don't want aid. 2. Colleges know exactly what happened and most are adjusting their financial aid approaches accordingly. 3. The Department of Education has already committed to fixing these issues for the 2025-2026 FAFSA cycle (your daughter's year). 4. The new simplified FAFSA actually makes more students eligible for Pell Grants and other aid, once the technical issues are resolved. While this year was problematic, there's every reason to believe the system will be improved by the time your daughter applies. The key is to start early and stay informed about changes.

My daughter is in college now dealing with this FAFSA nightmare. Her school still hasn't processed her federal aid because of FAFSA delays. We applied in January!!! It's almost May!!! She might have to skip fall semester if this doesn't get resolved. The whole system is completely broken.

As a parent who went through college applications with my older son two years ago, I want to offer some hope and practical advice. The FAFSA chaos is definitely scary, but here's what worked for us and might help you prepare: 1. Start building a comprehensive list of schools with different financial aid approaches - public schools with merit aid, private schools known for generous need-based aid, and schools where your daughter would be a top applicant 2. Begin gathering all your financial documents NOW (tax returns, bank statements, investment records) so you're ready to submit everything the moment the 2025-2026 FAFSA opens 3. Look into schools that use their own financial aid forms in addition to FAFSA - they often have more flexibility to help students 4. Consider having your daughter take the SAT/ACT again if there's room for improvement - higher test scores = more merit scholarship opportunities The silver lining is that colleges are very aware of this situation and many are actively working to make the process smoother for next year's applicants. Don't let the current chaos derail your daughter's dreams - there are still plenty of paths to make college affordable!