FAFSA federal student aid deadline changes to fall

As with everything in life, we often have to throw out the old way and start new. Starting October 1, the filing date for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will open for students who will be enrolling in college during the 2017-2018 school year and using their tax return information from the 2015 year, which is known as the “prior prior” year. This will be a permanent change from the previous January 1 opening date.

The October filing date is going into effect for a few reasons: One, to better align with college admissions application deadlines, two, so parents and students can submit their information correctly using data imported electronically from the IRS (instead of submitting estimated income information, only to go back and revise with the correct year’s information, essentially removing a step and encouraging families to fill out the FAFSA right away) and finally, so parents and students have more time to explore and understand financial aid and all the options that are available.

Those with students currently in college who filled out the FAFSA at the beginning of 2016 for this current school year (2016-2017), will need to fill out the FAFSA again in October for the following school year (2017-2018). For more information on this topic, visit the StudentAid.gov website (a great resource for parents and students) or call the student’s financial aid office.