Summer 2025 vs Fall 2025 start - which FAFSA should we submit now?

You should definitely submit both the 2024-2025 AND 2025-2026 FAFSA applications right now. The 2024-2025 FAFSA covers Summer 2025, while the 2025-2026 FAFSA covers Fall 2025 through Spring 2026. Schools have priority deadlines for financial aid, and being late could mean less aid for your son. It doesn't hurt to submit both even if he ultimately declines the summer start. You can always decline any financial aid package later, but you can't go back in time to submit a FAFSA after priority deadlines have passed.

my daughter did a summer start last yr and we jst did both fafsa forms. no big deal rly. better safe than sorry imo

I work in a financial aid office, and I strongly recommend submitting both FAFSA forms as soon as possible. The 2024-2025 FAFSA will cover Summer 2025, while the 2025-2026 FAFSA covers Fall 2025 through Summer 2026. Many schools have limited summer aid funds that are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. If your son waits until January to decide and then submits the 2024-2025 FAFSA, he might miss out on significant aid opportunities for summer. Important note: The two applications will use different tax years. The 2024-2025 FAFSA uses 2022 tax information, while the 2025-2026 FAFSA uses 2023 tax information. Your SAI (Student Aid Index) might be different for each application if your financial situation changed between those years.

The whole FAFSA system is RIDICULOUS. You have to apply for aid before you even know where your kid is going or when they're starting!!! I filled out THREE different years of FAFSA forms for my daughter because she took a gap semester and it was a NIGHTMARE. The customer service is non-existent. I spent HOURS on hold and never got through. They expect parents to be financial aid experts when all we're trying to do is help our kids afford college. The system is BROKEN.

I had this exact situation with my son last year! We submitted both FAFSA forms, and I'm so glad we did because he ended up accepting the summer start. The financial aid packages were different between summer and fall, with summer having fewer grant opportunities but more work-study options at his school. One thing I wish I'd known: if you're submitting both, do them at the same time while you have all the tax documents and information gathered. I waited a month between submitting the two forms and had to hunt down all the same information again. Also, if you're trying to reach someone at Federal Student Aid to ask questions (which I needed to several times), I discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me actually get through to an agent without spending hours on hold. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Saved me so much frustration when I needed to fix an error on one of our forms.

wait so we need to fill out TWO FAFSA forms for summer??? i'm so confussed i thought it was just one per year??

i went through this with my daughter last yr. we did both fafsa applications but it was kinda a waste of time for the summer one bc we found out most schools give way less aid for summer terms anyway. like my daughter got a great aid package for fall/spring but summer was basically all loans no grants. check with each college financial aid office about their summer aid policies b4 stressing too much about this.

One more thing to consider: even if your son gets accepted for Fall 2025 at his top choice, having the 2024-2025 FAFSA completed could still be useful. Some students take summer courses at community colleges before starting their freshman fall semester, and having that FAFSA on file would allow him to potentially get aid for those transfer courses. It gives you more options either way.