When should we submit FAFSA for 2025-2026 if my daughter's a rising junior in PA?

The 2025-2026 FAFSA should open December 1, 2024. The new timeline started with the 2024-2025 FAFSA when they moved from October to December opening. For Pennsylvania residents, you'll want to file by May 1, 2025 at the absolute latest to meet the state grant deadline, but I'd recommend submitting in December or January for maximum aid consideration. Many schools have earlier priority deadlines for institutional aid, so check with Penn State specifically about their financial aid priority dates.

my son goes to pitt and we always do it in january. seems to work fine!! just dont wait till the last minute lol

The 2025-2026 FAFSA will open December 1, 2024, and you'll be using 2023 tax information (the "prior-prior year"). This is actually really nice because by December 2024, you'll have had your 2023 taxes done for months already, so no estimation needed! One important thing to note - if your financial situation has significantly changed since 2023 (job loss, major income reduction, medical expenses, etc.), you'll want to complete the FAFSA first, then immediately contact Penn State's financial aid office for a professional judgment review/special circumstances appeal. They can adjust the SAI calculation based on current circumstances.

wait why are we doing 2025 fafsa now?? isnt that way too early??

I've been dealing with FAFSA for 5 years now with two kids in college, and I can tell you the whole system is RIDICULOUS!!! Every year they change something, and the FSA ID website is constantly glitching. Last year I tried for TWO WEEKS to get into our account because of their stupid verification loops. And then when you call? FORGET ABOUT IT. Busy signals and disconnects for DAYS. If I were you, I'd mark December 1st on the calendar and submit it that exact day. Pennsylvania state grants go FAST, and with the new SAI formula, even middle class families are getting screwed over compared to previous years.

After struggling with busy signals and disconnects when trying to reach FSA for two weeks, I finally found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual FAFSA agent in about 20 minutes. They basically hold your place in line and call you when an agent is available. Saved me hours of frustration. You can see how it works at claimyr.com or check their demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ For the original question - definitely submit as close to December 1st as possible. My daughter's school specifically told us that while May 1st is the published deadline, students who submit in December-January tend to get better institutional aid packages than later applicants.

just make sure both you AND your daughter have working FSA IDs well before December 1. I made the mistake of waiting until FAFSA opening day to discover my son's FSA ID had expired, and then with everyone trying to access the system that day, we couldn't get the verification email to come through for HOURS. ended up submitting like 3 days later because of all the technical issues.

One more thing to keep in mind - if your daughter plans to study abroad during the 2025-2026 academic year, you'll need to list the host institution as well as Penn State on the FAFSA. The financial aid office can help with the correct school codes, but many parents don't realize you need to list both schools for aid to transfer properly during study abroad semesters.

does anyone know if we can still use the mystudentaid app for 2025-2026?? the website always freezes on my computer

Thank you all for the helpful responses! To summarize what I've learned: 1. The 2025-2026 FAFSA opens December 1, 2024 2. We'll use 2023 tax information 3. PA state grant deadline is May 1, 2025, but filing earlier (Dec/Jan) is best 4. Check FSA IDs for both parent and student BEFORE December 5. Consider using Claimyr if we need to reach FSA phone support I'm going to check with Penn State directly about their priority deadlines too. Really appreciate everyone's advice!

Great summary! One additional tip - when you do submit in December, make sure to save a PDF copy of your completed FAFSA before hitting submit. The new system sometimes has issues with the confirmation pages, and having your own copy can be helpful if you need to reference what you submitted later. Also, Penn State's priority deadline for institutional aid is typically February 1st, so you'll be well ahead of that if you file in December/January. Good luck with her junior year!