According to a study published in Research in Higher Education, students who don’t file the FAFSA forgo an average of $9,741 in aid.

Senior families, the FAFSA goes live today, October 1. Every student applying to college should file one (a recommendation shared by every trusted financial aid expert and college financial aid officer). And the earlier you file, the more likely you are to get aid. Don’t wait. Don’t make excuses that you’ll never get enough to afford college or that you won’t qualify at all. Assumptions like those lead to inaction, which only increases or even guarantees that you won’t get aid. It’s not your job to evaluate your financial aid qualifications. That’s a job for the financial aid officers. Please file the FAFSA and let them do their jobs.