FAFSA for Summer 2025 early start classes - which form year should we use?

For summer 2025 early start classes, your daughter will need the 2024-2025 FAFSA (which you can complete now). Summer terms are typically considered part of the ending academic year, but for new students starting in summer, it's treated as part of the prior academic year. It's confusing, I know! Since she's starting college with summer classes before the fall 2025 semester, the financial aid for those summer classes will come from the 2024-2025 aid year.

my son did summer classes 2 yrs ago and we had to do BOTH forms!! the summer one AND the fall one. total pain but thats how it works

This is one of those weird financial aid quirks! You'll actually need to submit TWO FAFSA forms: 1. The 2024-2025 FAFSA (available now) for her Summer 2025 classes 2. The 2025-2026 FAFSA (available in December 2024) for her Fall 2025 - Spring 2026 classes I know it seems redundant, but each FAFSA covers specific academic years. The summer term is always tricky because it can be considered the end of one aid year or the beginning of another. For new students starting in summer, it's almost always treated as part of the prior aid year. Make sure you submit the 2024-2025 FAFSA soon, as some summer aid is first-come, first-served!

Wait, has anyone actually called the financial aid office at the specific college she's attending? Every school handles summer differently - some use the previous year's FAFSA, others use the upcoming year's form. You really need to confirm with HER specific college rather than getting general advice.

I tried calling the FSA hotline about a similar situation last year and spent HOURS on hold only to get disconnected twice. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that held my place in line and had an agent call me back when they reached a real person. Saved me so much frustration! They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Worth it for getting definitive answers about summer FAFSA rules directly from FSA.

everyone telling u different things lol. just call the school. my daughter did early summer start last yr and only needed to file ONE fafsa not two. depends on how the school packages their aid for summer programs.

Dont forget that your daughter will need her FSA ID set up before you can even start the FAFSA which can take 3-5 days to process. And you need one too as the parent. And the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation has completely changed this year so it's super confusing for everyone. Just a heads up!

After reading through all the comments, I'd recommend: 1. Contact the specific college's financial aid office ASAP 2. Ask them which FAFSA is required for summer 2025 early start students 3. Set up FSA IDs for both you and your daughter now (takes a few days) 4. Submit the appropriate FAFSA as soon as you confirm which one is needed 5. Ask about any additional institutional forms they might require Every school handles early start summer programs differently in terms of financial aid. The answer is specific to where she's attending.

As someone who went through this exact situation last year with my oldest, I can confirm that calling the school directly is absolutely the right move! My daughter's college treated summer early start as part of the 2024-2025 aid year, so we only needed one FAFSA initially. However, her friend at a different school had to file both forms. The policies really do vary by institution, especially for these bridging programs. One thing I wish I'd known earlier - ask the financial aid office about summer-specific scholarships too. Many schools have additional funding just for early start students that isn't widely advertised. Good luck with the call tomorrow!

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who works in financial aid administration - the confusion here is totally understandable because summer terms really are handled inconsistently across institutions! One additional tip: when you call the financial aid office tomorrow, ask specifically about their "satisfactory academic progress" (SAP) requirements for summer aid. Some schools have different SAP standards for early start programs, and you'll want to know about any GPA or credit hour requirements upfront. Also, if your daughter qualifies for state aid, check if your state has separate summer funding - some do, some don't. The FAFSA will cover federal aid, but state programs often have their own timelines and requirements. Fingers crossed the financial aid office gives you clear answers!