For students who are applying to college this fall, one of the most important tasks a parent can assist with is to visit the financial aid section of each college’s website and find the answers to these questions:
1. What’s required to apply for need-based aid?
2. What are the deadlines to submit those forms?
3. Do the deadlines change if a student applies via an early admission program?
The FAFSA can only be submitted after January 1st of the year the student intends to begin college, regardless of the particular admissions plan under which a student has decided to apply.
But that’s not necessarily true when it comes to the other financial aid forms some colleges require from applicants. Many colleges also require a CSS PROFILE and/or their own financial aid forms. For students applying via early application options, those forms often need to be submitted prior to January 1.
So double-check the deadlines (for both admissions and financial aid) at each of your colleges. Don’t get that information from any source other than the college itself. And pay particular attention to how deadlines change if you’re applying under an early program. You’ll never go wrong doing exactly what a college instructs you to do.