The timing, plainly

When should you file the FAFSA?

As soon as it opens for the school year you’re paying for — the form opens in the fall for the following academic year (studentaid.gov has the current date), and filing early matters because some aid genuinely runs out. State grant programs and individual colleges set their own priority deadlines, often well before the federal one, and some award first-come, first-served from pools that empty. The quiet trap for parents: this isn’t a one-time task. It repeats every single year your student is enrolled, and the years you’re busiest are the years it slips.

⏱ The window: File when it opens in the fall — check studentaid.gov for the date

State and college priority deadlines land before the federal one, and some aid pools are first-come. Filing early costs nothing; filing late can cost real grant money.

Where it sits in the year

Ordered from this month — this is the shape of it on a timeline.

OctFAFSA opens — gather the documents and file
NovCheck each college’s and your state’s priority deadlines
MarAid offers arrive — compare before decision day
OctAnd again next fall — every year they’re enrolled
Do I have to file the FAFSA every year?

Yes — once per academic year, for every year your student is enrolled and wants aid considered. The renewal filing is usually faster than the first one, but the deadline structure is the same, which is why a standing yearly reminder fits it better than memory.

Does filing early actually change what you get?

For some aid, yes: certain state programs and campus funds award from limited pools, and priority deadlines are real cutoffs. Federal aid formulas don’t reward speed, but the deadlines stacked in front of the federal one do. Early filing is the version with no downside.

What about the CSS Profile and 529 plans?

Some colleges require the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA, on their own deadlines — check each school’s aid page. And 529 withdrawals have their own timing rules; your plan or advisor is the source there. More dates, same solution: put them all on one timeline.

The date is the easy part. Remembering is the product.

Reviewal keeps windows like this on one page — the whole year of them — and emails you before each one opens. Your calendar handles what's today; this is the layer above it. Free to start: 40 events, 3 sections, reminders included.

Start free — no password, ever

Tracking this in a spreadsheet or calendar today? See exactly what changes: vs. a spreadsheet · vs. calendar reminders