FAFSA timing for 2025 high school grad taking gap year - apply now or later?

u dont need to do the fafsa for years when shes not in school. just do it when shes actually goin to college. otherwise its just extra paperwork for nothin

Actually, the previous commenter isn't entirely correct. While you don't NEED to complete a FAFSA for a year your student won't be enrolled, there are some strategic considerations: 1. Many colleges ask about gap years during the application process and may want to see your FAFSA information for institutional aid purposes, even for the gap year. 2. Some institutional scholarships require consecutive FAFSA applications to maintain eligibility. 3. Your daughter's SAI (Student Aid Index) for her actual enrollment year will be based on tax information from two years prior, so the same tax data would be used for both the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 FAFSAs anyway. My recommendation is to contact the financial aid offices at the schools your daughter is considering and ask about their specific policies for gap year students. Some may recommend completing both FAFSAs, while others may suggest waiting.

We just went throught this with my son last year!!! For us it was super confusing b/c different schools told us different things. What we ended up doing was filling out the FAFSA for both years (the gap year and the actual enrollment year). That way we didn't miss any deadlines or requirements. Some schools held his financial aid package for when he actually enrolled, others had us reapply. Just make sure she deffintely accepts the gap year status officially with her chosen school so they know she's not just not showing up.

wow i didnt even think about the gap year thing affecting fasfa! my kid wants to do one of those too maybe we should just call the school directly? good question OP

The official FSA guidance states you should only submit a FAFSA for academic years when your student will be attending college. HOWEVER this gets complicated with gap years!! Your daughter's 2026-2027 SAI will be calculated using your 2024 tax information anyway (they use prior-prior year), so the data would be identical for both years. My daughter did a gap year, and here's what we learned the hard way: Some scholarships and grants at certain schools DO require continuous enrollment/application. We missed out on a $12,000 scholarship because we didn't submit a FAFSA during her gap year. My advice: Call each school's financial aid office individually and ASK about their gap year policies for: 1. Merit scholarships 2. Need-based institutional grants 3. Any special gap year considerations Document everything! Get names and emails to confirm advice.

There's no significant downside to filing a FAFSA for a year your daughter won't attend college, other than the time spent completing it. The FAFSA doesn't commit her to anything - it just establishes eligibility for aid if she were to enroll. One small technical note: For the 2025-2026 FAFSA (which opens October 2024), you'll use 2023 tax information. For the 2026-2027 FAFSA (which opens October 2025), you'll use 2024 tax information. So they'll actually be using different tax years, which could affect her SAI calculation. I've found the safest approach is to complete both applications, especially if she's already been accepted to a school and deferred enrollment. This ensures you don't miss any institutional aid opportunities while also establishing federal aid eligibility for when she does enroll.

UGH the FAFSA system is so broken!!! Why do they make this so complicated?? My nephew just went through this and ended up losing a semester of aid because of the stupid bureaucracy. They should make this WAYYYY more clear on their website instead of making families hunt for information.

To summarize what everyone's said and add a final recommendation: 1. There's no universal right answer - it depends on your daughter's specific situation and the policies of her chosen school(s) 2. Contact each school's financial aid office for their gap year policies 3. If she's already been accepted and is deferring enrollment, completing both FAFSAs is the safest approach 4. If she hasn't applied/been accepted yet and will be applying during her gap year, you likely only need the 2026-2027 FAFSA 5. Remember that the 2025-2026 FAFSA uses 2023 tax data, while the 2026-2027 FAFSA uses 2024 tax data 6. Document all advice you receive from schools and FSA representatives Finally, make sure your daughter follows any formal gap year deferral processes required by her school(s), as this can affect both admission status and financial aid packaging.

Just wanted to add one more thing that helped us - keep track of all the deadlines! Even if you decide to file both FAFSAs, the deadlines can be different for each academic year. Some state grants and institutional aid have earlier deadlines than the federal ones, and these can vary between the gap year and enrollment year. We almost missed a state grant deadline because we assumed they were the same. Also, if your daughter ends up changing her mind about which school to attend during her gap year, you might need to update her FAFSA with the new school code. Good luck navigating this process!

As someone who works in financial aid, I want to emphasize something that hasn't been mentioned yet - timing of when you submit can matter for state aid! Some states have limited funding pools that are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. If your daughter is planning to attend college in your home state, check if your state has early FAFSA deadlines or limited grant funds. For example, some states require the FAFSA to be submitted by March 1st for maximum state grant eligibility. This could influence whether you want to submit the gap year FAFSA just to establish that early filing pattern. Also, if your family's financial situation is likely to change significantly between 2023 and 2024 (job loss, divorce, major medical expenses, etc.), the different tax years used for each FAFSA could work in your favor or against you, so factor that into your decision too.