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.

Updated: October 7th, 2021

Are you a high school or college student who is applying for financial aid using the FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid? If so, you need to meet the proper FAFSA deadline!

See Also: Our step-by-step FAFSA guide to complete the 2022-2023 FAFSA!

Jump ahead to:

• 2022-2023 FAFSA Deadlines
• State Financial Aid Deadlines
• What happens if you miss the FAFSA deadline?

Financial aid is an area where you want to be first in line, as opposed to last in line. In fact, some types of financial aid, such as the Federal SEOG award, may depend on when exactly you apply. 

Remember, you will also have to apply for financial aid for each year that you are in school so these deadlines hold true for both first-year freshman students and returning students.

Read on to learn more about all of the deadlines you will need to keep track of (and what to do if you miss any of your deadlines).

2022-2023 FAFSA deadlines

The three big FAFSA deadlines that students need to keep in mind for the 2022-2023 FAFSA are:

• FAFSA Opens: October 1, 2021
• FAFSA Closes: June 30, 2023
• FAFSA Corrections: September 10, 2023

State financial aid deadlines for 2022-2023

Each state also has its own financial aid deadline for aid awarded by the state.  Keep on reading to learn about the state-specific deadlines that you should know about!

What happens if you miss the FAFSA deadline?

If you happen to miss the FAFSA deadline or state financial aid deadline, you should get on the phone ASAP with your college’s financial aid office. Seriously. Get off of this webpage and immediately contact a financial aid officer to explore your options.

If it’s not too late, you might be able to appeal for financial aid and merit scholarships. Here are some tips for making your appeal, as well as an example appeal letter.

However, if you are in a situation where you have exhausted all options through your college, then you have three main options:

1. Scholarships
2. Gap year
3. Alternative financing

Let’s discuss the pros and cons of each of these options…

Scholarships

Scholarships are free money that does not need to be repaid (similar to need-based financial aid that you may secure through the FAFSA. There are many different types of scholarships for lots of different types of students.

However, scholarships can be a bit unpredictable if you will be requiring a large amount of scholarship dollars to pay for college. Some colleges and organizations do offer full ride scholarships, but these are extremely competitive for even the strongest students.

Ultimately, scholarships can be a good option if you received a strong merit scholarship from a college or if you were not expecting to receive a large amount of need-based financial aid.

Gap year

If you have a high amount of demonstrated financial need and have not had luck with scholarships, a gap year may be your next best option. This will allow you to defer your college acceptance for a year. This means that you will be able to make your financial aid deadlines and qualify for the proper amount of financial aid.

The biggest downside to a gap year is that not all colleges will permit you to do a gap year (generally, you will need to apply and receive permission from the college). Additionally, gap year students will have to start their college education a year later. This can be unappealing for some students, but gap year experiences can have many benefits.

Alternative financing

Finally, alternative financing, such as Income Share Agreements or student loans, can be an option if you miss the FAFSA deadline. The upside to this option is that receiving this type of financing is more predictable–virtually all students will be able to secure some sort of ISA or student loan financing.

The downside to this option is that both student loans and ISAs need to be paid back. This can be particularly true for students who would qualify for a high amount of need-based financial aid. Student loans and ISAs can be useful if used properly, but we always recommend that students sit down and work out the numbers to see what their post-college debt or income repayment plan would look like.