Students, It’s Time to Complete Your FAFSA

For high school seniors planning to attend college, an important step is getting information about how to fund this education.  Universities and colleges recommend that all students complete the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) for each year of attendance.  The FAFSA is used not only by the government to determine federal student aid such as grants, scholarships, and loans, but also by the institution to determine additional funding sources that may be available to each eligible student.

The FAFSA application has already opened for students planning to attend college, career school, or graduate school during the 2026-27 school year. For undergraduates, both the student and parent(s) are involved in the application process which is estimated to take less than an hour to complete.  

Helpful Suggestions:

• Both student and parent need their own FAFSA ID in order to sign the completed form, however, new this year is an instant identity verification process which eliminates wait time

• Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool  to automatically populate and verify information from your federal tax returns

• Complete the FAFSA before the earliest financial aid deadline of all the schools being applied to 

• List up to twenty colleges that will get your FAFSA application and check here to see if your state has requirements about the order of the colleges you list (in order to get state aid)

• Do not count the same asset in two different categories, only include it once

• Remember that 529 plans for a student beneficiary, but with a parent custodian, are counted as a parental asset (more advantageous for getting aid)

• Some institutions require students to complete another aid application called the College Scholarship Service Profile (CSS Profile), so be sure to check each institution’s requirements

Each step of the college selection and application process is an important one.  At Confident College Planning we help students and families through the process by outlining important action steps, providing insights and guidance, and reducing stress.  Email Nancy at confidentcollegeplanning@gmail.com to learn how I can help!

Photo Credit:  The University of New England has beautiful coastal campuses in Biddeford and Portland, Maine, and offers programs in the health and life sciences, as well as degrees in business and many other areas. The main waterfront campus in Biddeford, is located on over 4,000 feet of scenic shoreline where the Saco River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Not surprisingly marine science students have unique hands-on opportunities in this setting.  The 41-acre campus in Portland has a Center for Global Humanities and houses many Health Sciences, including Maine's only College of Dental Medicine.