FAFSA filing timing for fall 2025 Culinary School start + TOPS scholarship coordination

Congratulations on your daughter's acceptance! For the 2025-2026 academic year, the FAFSA application opens on December 1, 2024. You should submit as soon as possible after it opens - ideally before January 15, 2025, as many schools have priority deadlines in January or February. Regarding TOPS, you need to complete both the FAFSA AND the TOPS application. The FAFSA serves as part of your TOPS application, but you'll also need to create a Louisiana Award System (LAS) account through the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA) to complete the full TOPS process. For 2025 high school graduates, the TOPS application deadline is typically July 1, 2025. Most importantly: the FAFSA should be completed first, then finalize the TOPS-specific portions.

im pretty sure culinary school dosent qualify for TOPS!! my cousin tried this last year and they told him TOPS only works at certain LA colleges not specialty schools. might wanna double check that first before u count on that money

Just went through this with my son! The FAFSA opens Dec 1 now (changed from October). Do it ASAP when it opens because some aid is first-come first-served. For TOPS you need the FAFSA + the separate TOPS application.

I'll share my experience with both FAFSA and TOPS from last year. The FAFSA application process was HORRIBLE. I spent 16 hours on hold trying to reach someone at Federal Student Aid because their system kept giving us errors about our tax information not matching. SIXTEEN HOURS across multiple days! Finally I found Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me through to an actual human at FSA in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Totally worth it because we were able to get everything sorted out and submitted before our school's priority deadline. For TOPS specifically, make sure you're watching ALL their deadlines - there are actually several different dates you need to track depending on what documentation you're submitting.

MAKE SURE your daughter's high school has properly submitted all her TOPS-relevant records to LOSFA!!! My daughter almost lost her TOPS eligibility because her school didn't submit her final transcript until we called and hounded them repeatedly. The school is supposed to send her final GPA, ACT/SAT scores, and certification that she completed the TOPS curriculum. Double-check all of this in May 2025 before graduation. And when you do the FAFSA, triple-check all the information. One wrong digit in a SSN or tax info will cause WEEKS of delays. We had to submit verification documents because of a tiny error, and it almost cost us everything.

my daughter did culinary at nicholls state with tops! but you gotta check if yours is eligible. also the SAI on fafsa determines alot so dont wait to file!

Thanks everyone for the helpful info! I just called the culinary school, and they ARE on the TOPS eligible list (it's connected to a community college). The financial aid office also confirmed their priority deadline is February 15, 2025. So our plan now is: 1. Complete FAFSA as soon as it opens December 1 2. Set up the Louisiana Award System account 3. Verify with her high school that they'll submit all TOPS requirements 4. Double-check everything for accuracy to avoid verification delays Am I missing anything else?

My nephew did the TOPS thing and it was a DISASTER. They kept changing requirements and he lost funding after freshman year. Don't count on it staying consistent for all 4 years. Make sure you have a backup plan!!!