Here’s Why You Should Submit Your Info Before the FAFSA Deadline

If college students were superheroes, deadlines would be their kryptonite.

But there are upcoming deadlines to apply for federal student aid you’ll want to add to your calendar now (yes, it’s a little confusing, but we’ll explain in a bit):

FAFSA deadline for the 2020-21 school year: June 30, 2021.

FAFSA deadline for 2021-22 school year: June 30, 2022. “That deadline isn’t until next year!” you say. But the sooner you get your application in, the more likely you can still claim some of that money.

The first day to submit for the 2022-23 school year: Oct. 1, 2021. Why should you care about the first day? Many schools award their financial aid money within weeks (or days) of the FAFSA opening. So even though the deadline isn’t until June 30, 2023, this is your chance to get your paperwork in order so you can be first in line for financial aid.

Wait — What Is FAFSA, Again?

FAFSA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

In simplest terms, the FAFSA is the form you fill out to get your financial information all in one place. In turn, that information lets the people with the money know you need financial aid, including federal student loans, scholarships, grants or work-study opportunities.

Many states and colleges will use your FAFSA information to determine whether you are eligible for state or school aid, and some private providers also use it to see if you qualify for their financial aid.

You’ll want to check here for your state’s and with your college’s financial aid office for their deadlines.

Filling out and submitting your FAFSA is totally free, and you really shouldn’t skip it — even if the process seems intimidating. In years past, students across the U.S. have left as much as $2.3 billion (yep, with a “b”) in student aid on the table by neglecting to fill out their financial information.

What FAFSA Deadlines Should I Know About?

The opening date for applying for FAFSA every year is Oct. 1 before the school year begins (so for the 2021-22 school year, the FAFSA opened Oct. 1, 2020). That allows applicants plenty of time to submit their financial information before schools begin sending out financial aid offers.

Applicants use financial information from the previous year’s tax season. This means that if you were planning to attend college starting in fall 2021, you would have used your (or your parents’) 2019 tax information (the information they filed in early 2020).

The FAFSA application cycle lasts 21 months, opening on October 1 before the school year begins and closing on June 30 of that school year.

Confused yet? Yeah, you and everybody else.

Because the full submission period stretches more than a year and a half for each school year, many of the dates, deadlines and submission periods overlap. Thanks to the jumbled timeline, it’s really easy to get overwhelmed and give up or forget about the deadlines entirely.

Here’s a breakdown to help you figure out which year’s form you should be filling out for which application deadline, using which financial information.

While you have a pretty wide window for submitting your application, the earlier you submit it, the better your chances of securing aid offers will be. The federal deadline is in the summer, but most schools send out their aid offers during the previous winter months.

“Every school has a priority deadline,” says Erin Dunn, director of financial aid and scholarships at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg Campus. “When a student applies by that priority deadline, they’re considered for the maximum amounts and types of financial aid available.”

While federal aid may still be offered as late as the June 30 deadline, you should check with your school of choice to see when it requires FAFSA to be submitted each year to be considered for school-related financial help.

Why Should I Submit the FAFSA for the Previous Year After the School Year Is Over?

But should you even bother filling it out this late?

“Absolutely, fill it out, because if you don’t try then you don’t know what you may be eligible for,” Dunn says.

Even this late in the year, you could receive retroactive financial aid, including Pell Grants or other forms of federal aid.

Plus, filling out the FAFSA takes all of about an hour — and we’ve got a guide that will help you fill it out in eight easy steps.

Just remember, when it comes to the FAFSA, earlier is always better.

Then, fill out the separate 2021-2022 FAFSA (which has been open since Oct. 1, 2020).

Once you’re caught up on those, you’ll be back on track and ready to fill out the 2022-2023 application as soon as it opens in October.

Grace Schweizer is an email content writer at The Penny Hoarder. Staff writer/editor Tiffany Connors contributed to this post.

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