FAFSA timing for mid-year transfer from community college to university - January 2025 start possible?

you need to fill out 2024-2025 FAFSA for Spring 2025 semester, the 2025-2026 FAFSA is for next school year (summer 2025 thru spring 2026). January is still part of current academic year.

As someone who works in financial aid, I can clarify this for you. For a January 2025 start date (Spring semester), you need to complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA as soon as possible. This covers July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. I recommend taking these steps: 1. Complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA now (don't wait for acceptance) 2. List the private university on the FAFSA (you can add up to 10 schools) 3. Contact the university's financial aid office to inform them of the mid-year transfer 4. Ask about their specific deadlines for spring transfers Most universities absolutely admit and provide aid for spring semester starts, but available funds may be more limited than fall. Some scholarship deadlines may have passed, but federal aid should still be available.

January starts are definitely possible! My son transferred mid-year from community college to a private university too. But be prepared - the financial aid process was MISERABLE. We filled out the FAFSA but got stuck in verification hell for weeks. The university kept asking for more documents, then more documents, then MORE DOCUMENTS. By the time everything was processed, some scholarship funds were gone. Apply early!!!!

I had to make about 20 calls to Federal Student Aid when my daughter transferred mid-year. The wait times were insane (2+ hours), and I kept getting disconnected. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an FSA agent without the wait. They have a demo video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Completely worth it as we needed to get some tax information corrected on our FAFSA before the university would process her aid package. The agent was able to help us fix everything in one call rather than waiting weeks for email responses.

Another important point - if your daughter will also be continuing for the 2025-2026 academic year, you'll need to complete the new FAFSA that opens in December 2024 for her fall 2025 semester. So you might end up doing two FAFSAs within a few months of each other. Also, the SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation changes this year with the new FAFSA, so your daughter's aid eligibility might look different for her second year compared to what she gets for Spring 2025. Just something to be aware of when budgeting.

my siblingdid this exact thing last year and regretted the january start tbh. they got way less finaid than fall starts, missed scholarship deadlines, couldn't get into required classes that were full, and felt socially isolated since everyone already had friend groups from fall semester. just something to considr b4 making the decision. might be better to wait til fall when more $$$ available

To answer your follow-up question - yes, at 20 your daughter will still be considered a dependent student for FAFSA purposes unless she meets one of the specific criteria for independence (marriage, military service, etc.). Regarding her community college transcript - it doesn't directly affect her aid eligibility, but she will need to make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to maintain aid once enrolled. The university will also need to determine how her transfer credits apply toward her degree program, which can indirectly affect aid by determining how many semesters of funding she'll need. And yes, SAI (Student Aid Index) is the new term replacing EFC (Expected Family Contribution) in the new FAFSA. Same general concept but with some calculation differences.

Yes, you do need to report 529 plans on the FAFSA, but how they're reported depends on who owns the account: - If the 529 is parent-owned (with your daughter as beneficiary): It's reported as a parental asset, which has a much smaller impact on aid eligibility (only about 5.64% of the value counts against aid). - If the 529 is owned by your daughter: It would be reported as a student asset, which has a bigger impact (20% counts against aid). - If the 529 is owned by a grandparent or other relative: The new FAFSA no longer requires reporting distributions from these accounts, which is a positive change from previous years. Contact the university's financial aid office directly to discuss mid-year transfer opportunities - they can often provide specific guidance for your situation.

Just wanted to add one more thing that might help - if your daughter hasn't already, she should create her FSA ID (studentaid.gov) as soon as possible since both of you will need to electronically sign the FAFSA. The FSA ID creation process can sometimes take a few days to verify, and you don't want that to delay your FAFSA submission. Also, make sure you have your 2022 tax returns handy since the 2024-2025 FAFSA uses prior-prior year tax information. Good luck with everything!