The FAFSA dates behind federal grants
Federal grants run on an award year with a fixed start and end, and the FAFSA opens on a schedule tied to it. Put these dates on your calendar so timing costs you nothing from the federal, state and campus money that relies on the same form.
The award year and when the form opens
Each award year runs from July 1 to June 30, and federal grants are paid within it. The FAFSA for the next award year normally opens by October 1, about nine months before that year begins. The form for the 2027-28 year covers classes from summer or fall 2027 through spring 2028.
The form reads income from two years before the award year, so the 2027-28 FAFSA uses 2025 tax information. That timing lets you file as soon as the form opens, because the tax return it needs is usually already filed.
The federal deadline and the earlier ones
The federal deadline is June 30 at the end of the award year. State grant agencies and colleges set priority dates far earlier, in the winter or spring before the year begins, and some state and campus funds are paid only until they run out.
For Pell, the school must also have your processed FAFSA while you are enrolled and before its own processing deadlines, so waiting until June can mean missing aid for terms already finished. FSEOG and other campus funds favor early files, since the money is limited.
Each new form starts the calendar over, with fresh state and college dates, so keep a list of them for each year until you finish your program.
Getting each contributor ready
Every contributor on the form, such as a parent or spouse, needs a StudentAid.gov account and must consent to the IRS sharing tax data. Setting up accounts takes time, because identity checks can run for a few days. Create them in September so nobody holds up the form in October.
The FAFSA has to be filed again for every award year in which you want federal grants. Each new form starts the calendar over, with fresh state and college dates, so keep a list of them for each year until you finish your program.
Steps to take this week
- Write down the priority date for each college and your state
- Create StudentAid.gov accounts for every contributor
- Find the tax return from two years before the award year
- Set a reminder to file again each October
Who decides
Your state's higher education agency and your college's financial aid office
The federal deadline is June 30, but the dates that decide most grant money come months earlier from states and colleges.
