When do most people do it? Do you need to know what college you’re attending before you do it? I know this is a dumb question, but I honestly did try googling it for a while and didn’t find an answer.
I graduate in June 2017 and attend college in September 2017.
Alex, should I phrase my answer in the form of a question?
Your FAFSA for the 2017-2018 school year will be available for completion and submission in October 2016. You will use 2015 tax year information to complete the FAFSA.
You need to submit it to schools…so you do need to know where you plan to apply.
You can always add schools to your FAFSA list, but some aid given out to the earliest filers. When you do the FAFSA in October, list every school you are thinking about applying to. If you end up not applying, don’t worry about those.
You can submit your FAFSA to ten schools at once. But once those ten schools are processed…you can go back into the FAFSA site…and delete those…and submit to more schools.
@thumper1 , Changing the schools on your FAFSA won’t move you to the back of the list though right? For example, say I’m the first person in the world to submit my FAFSA, but then in December I remove one school, then add another one. I will still be counted as the first person in the world to submit the FAFSA right? I won’t be counted as a person who submitted it in December?
Once your FAFSA has been processed…you have submitted it to,that first batch of schools. You are in their “line” for aid.
You are just deleting the first batch off the form so you can add additional colleges, if necessary. You are not deleting the submission.
Do you have the option of doing it in January or February and using 2016 tax returns? or is it absolutely required that you use 2015 returns?
You can do it in Jan or February, but you must use 2015 taxes for the 2017-18 school year.
Has to be done using 2015 tax returns for the 2017-2018 school year. No option to do otherwise.
Really, by October 2016, your 2015 tax return should be completed…so submit your FAFSA to colleges ASAP after that date.
2015 returns have been completed for months but our 2016 income is lower, that is why I asked.