FAFSA priority deadline Dec 1st but no college acceptance yet - do we still need to file?
My daughter applied Early Action to this university that listed December 1st as their 'priority FAFSA deadline,' but she hasn't even received an admission decision from them yet! I'm confused - are we actually supposed to submit the FAFSA by this Sunday for a school that hasn't even accepted her? Does the priority deadline apply to applicants who haven't received decisions? The college's financial aid page isn't clear about this. I don't want her to miss out on potential aid, but it seems weird to submit all our financial info to a school that might reject her. Anyone dealt with this priority deadline situation before?
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Ashley Adams
yes! submit it anyway!! my son went thru this last yr and we didnt do the fafsa til after acceptances came in... big mistake! he got way less $ than his friends who did the same priority deadline. i think its bc they give out the money to the first people who submit and by the time we did ours they had less to give. just do it this weekend!!
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Zoe Gonzalez
•Thanks for the quick response! That's so frustrating they don't make this clearer in their communications. Did your son end up going to that school even with less aid?
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Alexis Robinson
Financial aid advisor here. Yes, you should absolutely submit the FAFSA by the priority deadline even without an acceptance. The priority deadline is specifically designed to position students for maximum institutional aid consideration. Schools use these deadlines to allocate their limited institutional funds, which are separate from federal aid eligibility. When your daughter is accepted (hopefully!), they'll already have her financial information ready to create a comprehensive aid package. Missing the priority deadline doesn't mean she won't get any aid, but it does mean she might not be considered for certain institutional scholarships and grants that have limited funding.
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Zoe Gonzalez
•This makes a lot of sense - thank you for explaining! We'll prioritize getting it submitted this weekend. Is there anything specific we should include in the FAFSA to maximize her chances at institutional aid?
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Aaron Lee
omg priority deadlines are the WORST!! my daughter missed hers for her top school and they basically gave her nothing even tho we qualify for tons of aid. she ended up going to her 2nd choice where we submitted earlier. the whole system is rigged tbh
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Alexis Robinson
•While it can certainly feel that way sometimes, most schools do try to distribute aid fairly. Priority deadlines help institutions budget their limited funds. Federal aid like Pell Grants and Direct Loans aren't affected by these deadlines, but school-specific scholarships and grants often are. It's always best to submit as early as possible.
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Chloe Mitchell
When my son was applying to colleges last year, we submitted FAFSA to all 7 schools he applied to before getting any acceptance letters. That's completely normal. The FAFSA submission doesn't mean she'll definitely attend that school - it just puts her in line for financial aid consideration if she does get accepted and chooses to go there. One important thing: make sure you're using the correct 2025-2026 FAFSA form if she's starting college next fall. The form changed significantly this year with the switch to the Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the old Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Some schools also require the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA, so check if this school needs that too.
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Zoe Gonzalez
•This is really helpful! Yes, we're using the new 2025-2026 form. I was confused about the CSS Profile too - this particular school does require it, so I guess we need to submit both by Sunday. The new SAI calculations are confusing me a bit though.
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Michael Adams
wait do we have to fill out FAFSA for each college separately?? i thought it was just one application??? my kid is applying to 9 schools!!
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Chloe Mitchell
•You only fill out the FAFSA once, but you list all the schools your student is applying to using their school codes. You can list up to 10 schools initially, and can always add more later by removing some of the first batch. Each school on your list will receive your FAFSA information automatically. The CSS Profile (if required) works similarly.
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Natalie Wang
I went through this exact situation last year with my son. Definitely submit by the priority deadline! But here's my advice: if you're having trouble getting the FAFSA done by Sunday because you need clarification from FSA, try Claimyr (claimyr.com). They helped me actually get through to a real FAFSA agent when I had last-minute questions about reporting our home sale proceeds. There's a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ We would have missed the priority deadline at his top choice if I hadn't been able to talk to an actual human to resolve our issue. The regular FSA phone line had me on hold for over 3 hours before disconnecting!
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Zoe Gonzalez
•Thank you for this tip! We actually are having trouble figuring out how to report some investment accounts on the new form. Did you find the FAFSA agents were helpful once you got through?
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Natalie Wang
•Yes, once I got connected, the agent was super helpful and walked me through exactly how to report the investments correctly. Saved us from potentially delaying our submission or reporting things incorrectly which could have triggered verification. Definitely worth it since we were up against that priority deadline.
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Noah Torres
I'm honestly so confused by all of this. My daughter is also applying to colleges and some have Dec 1 deadlines, others Jan 15, and one Feb 1. Do I need to submit different FAFSAs at different times? And why does the form ask about parents' education if we don't qualify for need-based aid? The whole system seems designed to be complicated on purpose. I spent three hours on it yesterday and gave up.
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Alexis Robinson
•You only need to submit one FAFSA, but aim to meet the earliest priority deadline among all her schools. The questions about parents' education aren't about financial aid eligibility - they're used to identify first-generation college students for certain programs and demographic tracking. Even if you don't think you'll qualify for need-based aid, I still recommend completing the FAFSA as you might be surprised at what she qualifies for, especially with the new SAI calculation method.
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Zoe Gonzalez
Thanks everyone for your helpful responses! We're definitely going to submit the FAFSA and CSS Profile before the December 1st deadline. I'm still learning all the ins and outs of this process - it's so much more complicated than when I went to college. Does anyone know how long after submission we should expect to receive the SAI calculation? And will that be sent to us or just to the schools?
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Chloe Mitchell
•You should receive your Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation within 3-5 days after submission if you use the electronic signature option. It will be included in your Student Aid Report (SAR), which you can access through your studentaid.gov account. This SAI will also be sent to all the schools you listed on your FAFSA. Each school will then use that SAI to develop their individual financial aid packages based on their available funding and policies. Good luck with everything!
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