As we wrap up the third quarter of 2024 and enter the fall season, typically this means our clients with college-age children are entering “FAFSA Season.”
Also known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA is a form used to determine “if you are eligible for grants, scholarships, work-study programs, and loans for college or career school,” according to USA.gov. If you have children starting college next year or returning for another year of college, you may be wondering: When is the best time to file the FAFSA? The filing season for FAFSA runs from October 1st through June 30th, with most experts advising to file as early as possible as this gives you a better chance of receiving higher aid.
For 2023 filing, the Department of Education released the new FAFSA form on December 30, 2022, almost three months delayed from the traditional opening date. This was due to the FAFSA form being heavily modified to make the filing process much simpler; however, with the major modification, they encountered many errors, which caused significant delays for families receiving financial aid.
This year the FAFSA form is set to be delayed again, as the Department of Education is taking a different approach and will test “a limited set of students and institutions,” before rolling out the form to the greater public, which is expected to be December 1st. The goal is for the Department of Education to test and resolve any issues before making the form available for use.
If you have a child entering college or currently in college, sit tight for now regarding the FAFSA filing! Most families are also delayed from filing, so even though we typically advise to file as early aspossible, this year we counsel patience until the form is corrected FAFSA is released.