Looping Back to FAFSA
By Karen Treon, Senior Editor & College Parent
Note to readers: Congress has passed a number of changes impacting FAFSA and student financial aid, and future legislative initiatives might lead to additional changes. Our information here was updated in August of 2025, but we cannot track impacts on the state and school level in real time. The schools that your student has applied to will likely have webinars and other resources available to help families keep track of the changes – we suggest that families utilize those resources in order to stay current and make appropriate financial decisions. The California Student Aid Commission (listed below) is a great resource as well, whether you live in California or elsewhere.
If you are wondering what the heck FAFSA stands for, we suggest you start by reviewing our blog post on FAFSA and CSS. In short, FAFSA is the gateway to federal financial aid as well as state grants and institutional aid. It is a simple, online application and is a critical step for families figuring out how to pay for college. It opens every year in OCTOBER for the following school year – so current high school seniors fill it out during their senior year. Most universities use the FAFSA results to determine financial aid eligibility, and their deadlines vary.
If your student hasn’t submitted FAFSA yet, there is no time like the present. The FAFSA is user-friendly, and students and parents often find that the wizards and help tips that appear throughout the application address all of the questions that they might have. Note that parents need to complete their portion as well in order to complete the process.
If you have questions, there are a number of places to find good guidance on FAFSA. Some of our favorites are listed below:
The FAFSA website is where it all starts. Here you can set up FSA IDs (for students and parents) as well as fill out the application. The site’s Help Center is very good and odds are you can find answers to your questions there. If not, there is a live chat feature and phone help available. (We suggest you search for your answer on the website first as the phone call hold times can be lengthy.)
The California Student Aid Commission. This resource is particularly helpful for California residents, but students from outside of California will find their FAFSA information extremely helpful. They post regularly on Instagram with timely and up-to-date information (Instagram: @castudentaid).
For students and families with questions about eligibility, My Undocumented Life is an excellent resource. (Remember: FAFSA eligibility is based on a student’s immigration status only - not the parents’ status.)
At this point in the process, many students have been accepted to a college or university. If that is the case, the financial aid office at that school is an excellent resource as well. Note that most financial aid offices are only able to help students who have been admitted.
While it is important to check the FAFSA off of the to-do list, it isn’t a race. Make sure and check the priority deadlines for FAFSA at your student’s potential schools, and then schedule time to complete the FAFSA well before that deadline.
