“What will your high school completion status be when you begin college in the 2016-2017 school year?”
We’re already in the 2016-2017 year and I’m filling this out for someone starting college in the 2017-2018 school year.
Any advice?
Yes, my advice is to wait to fill out the 2107 form, which will be available Oct 1.
Ypu are filling out the wrong FAFSA.,the 2017-2018 form won’t be available until October.
Ahhh - thank you! Will hold fire.
October 1, 2106, that is, which is an awful long wait. 
And the bonus is, once you can file the FAFSA on Oct 1, your 2015 tax return info should already be completed, so when you get to the parent financial info, you can choose the option “taxes already completed” and “link to the IRS” and you should be able to import tax info right from the tax return to the FAFSA.
Now although 2015 income information is used, the assets will have to be reported as of the day FAFSA is submitted.
https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm
And if you haven’t done so, the student and one parent need to sign up for a FSA ID. You can do that now.
Some financial aid is first-come, first-served, and certainly not the majority of it. For some students, filing “as soon as possible” may not be the right thing to do.
This was a good walk through for the 2016-2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fSeHK4ceGs
@BelknapPoint can you clarify your last sentence please?
If first-come, first-serve aid isn’t an issue (and often times it is not), there are generally two major considerations: filing in time to meet any school specific deadline, and filing at a time when assets are at a low point (for instance, just after major bills have been paid, and just before a pay day or other asset generating event).
Another example…if a family sells a home in September, and doesn’t close on a new home until November, they could have tens of thousands of dollars in their bank accounts which would,count as assets. A family in this situation should wait until they have their house closing…and bank accounts are emptied of profits from house number 1.
^that is also assuming that assets will make an impact on EFC.
For us it just asked if our total assets were over like $20k (our asset protection amount based on age of older parent), and no more questions were asked after we truthfully answered “no”. And we do not qualify for auto zero EFC or simplified needs (we make over $50k and file 1040).
Of course when it comes to the student assets there is no asset protection amount. But if auto zero or simplified needs would come into play, student assets would not need to be reported.
I would say that low income students should file as soon as possible after FAFSA opens. Or if you expect your EFC to be low or already know it is low from a sibling or your previous aid year.
Some state aid is first come first served, SEOG, Perkins and federal work study can be limited in supply at a school.
“Now although 2015 income information is used, the assets will have to be reported as of the day FAFSA is submitted.”
Thanks for posting that, @mommdc. Was wondering. It would seem obvious but you never know.
^yes, that’s why @BelknapPoint pointed out that optimal timing of FAFSA submission might be important for some people.
Yes, another example of when FAFSA submission timing might matter – we are both self-employed, so we plan to make at least a portion of a yearly SEP IRA contribution for each of us and will make an estimated tax payment a little early before submitting FAFSA because that will mean thousands less in the bank account.