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Should You Complete the FAFSA Before or After Acceptance?
By
Will Geiger
Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.
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Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.
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Maria Geiger is Director of Scholarship Services at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.
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The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the main application students fill out for need-based financial aid. You may be wondering whether you should fill this form out before or after you hear back from colleges.
In short, students should fill out the FAFSA before they hear back from colleges. Ideally, you should submit the form at the same time as you submit your application. Keep reading to learn why and how to submit the FAFSA.
Completing the FAFSA
As with most aspects of the admissions process, timing matters when applying for financial aid. Colleges will not finalize your financial aid package until after you are accepted, but you shouldn’t wait to fill out the FAFSA until then. Students usually receive award letters at the time that they learn whether or not they’re accepted.
Students can apply for financial aid with the FAFSA any time after October 1st. The FAFSA officially closes on June 30th, but keep in mind that individual colleges may have their own FAFSA deadlines.
Apply to these scholarships due soon
Is there an advantage to completing the FAFSA early?
Let’s put it this way: By applying as early as possible, you eliminate the risk of submitting late and losing your financial aid. You also increase your chances to receive the maximum amount of financial aid. Some states offer first-come-first-served grants that you can only receive if you submit your FAFSA early.
Need-based financial aid includes a variety of types of funding, including grants such as:
Melody Lipford | Advising Specialist on the Virtual Access Team, College Possible
Expert Perspective
Students may list up to 20 colleges on the FAFSA
Students can list up to 20 colleges at a time on the FAFSA. Luckily, you can easily add more colleges if you are applying for admission to 21 or more schools. Any schools you list will receive access to the information you provided on the FAFSA, which will help them determine the aid they can provide you.
List public schools first
Students should list any in-state public colleges first on their FAFSA. This is because some states award additional grants and financial aid for in-state residents. Keep in mind that you don’t have to apply to a school before you can list them on your FAFSA.
Don’t forget about the other financial aid applications
You might come across other financial aid applications that colleges require. In most cases you will need to have FAFSA filled out and on file in order to qualify. So, if you’re thinking about applying to other scholarships, school specific aid, or any sort of aid from your local government, you should have the FAFSA filled out.
One of the other most common financial aid applications is the CSS Profile which is managed by the College Board. This application is used by almost 400 colleges and universities to provide aid to students.
Also read: CSS Profile vs. FAFSA: What you need to know
Be aware of state and college deadlines
Another reason to complete your FAFSA ahead of time is that colleges and states may have deadlines earlier than the federal deadline of June 30. Contact the financial aid offices of the schools you’re considering to find out their deadline for the FAFSA.
Additionally, make sure you’re aware of the deadline for your state. Because of the variation in state and college deadlines, you should fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1 to ensure you don’t miss out on available aid.
Give yourself time
Filling out the FAFSA can be time consuming the first time you fill it out. So, make sure you give yourself enough time to properly complete the application, meaning you should probably start sooner rather than later. Once you have completed the FAFSA once, it should not take as long to update each year. You should become familiar with the questions you’ll be asked and any documentation you’ll need to provide.
Related: Can I make corrections to my FAFSA after submitting?
Apply for the FAFSA as soon as possible
The bottom line for students is that it makes sense to apply for financial aid with the FAFSA as soon as possible. Students should not wait until receiving a colleges’ acceptance to complete the FAFSA. Instead, You should aim to complete and submit the application shortly after the FAFSA opens up on October 1st. This is the best way to qualify for the most financial aid possible so that you can graduate with little or no student loan debt.
Jack Wang | Wealth Advisor, Innovative Advisory Group
Expert Perspective
See also: How to this year’s FAFSA
Key Takeaways
Frequently asked questions about when you should complete the FAFSA
How long does it take for FAFSA to process?
Can you submit the FAFSA after acceptance?
Does FAFSA affect your college acceptance?