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The aid calendar

A month-by-month view of the aid year for families, from the fall opening of the FAFSA to the summer bill.

No date on this page is an official deadline. Each entry describes typical timing. Official dates come from studentaid.gov, your state aid agency and each college's aid office, and they can change from one year to the next. Copy the real ones onto your own calendar.

A grinning man in a teal vest checks a reminder on his phone in a community garden, a small paper pocket calendar on his knee.
Photo staged for this page. The person shown is not a Pellwyn employee.

Month by month

October

Fall

The form opens, usually.

In recent years the FAFSA for the following school year has opened anywhere from late September to the end of December. The federal student aid office posts the opening on studentaid.gov. Create StudentAid.gov accounts for the student and each contributor now if you have not already.

Some private colleges with early application rounds ask for the CSS Profile this month as well. Check each college's aid page.

November

Fall

File once the form is live.

If the form has opened, file it. Many state grant programs and colleges hand out limited funds in the order files arrive, so a November filing is often in a better position than a February one.

Read the FAFSA Submission Summary that follows and fix anything flagged.

December

Fall

Watch for verification.

Colleges that have received your results may ask for documents to verify them. Answer quickly. Early-round admission decisions can arrive now, sometimes with an early estimate of aid.

January

Winter

State and college priority dates begin.

A good share of state and college priority dates fall between January and March. Your state aid agency's website lists its own date or explains that funds are given out until they run low. Write each real date on your calendar.

February

Winter

Fill gaps in the file.

Check that every college on your list has received your FAFSA results and any extra forms it asked for. If a contributor never finished their section, the file has no Student Aid Index yet; finish it now.

March

Winter into spring

Offers begin to arrive.

Admitted students usually start receiving aid offers in March. Open each one and copy the figures onto the comparison worksheet.

April

Spring

Compare and ask questions.

Most offers are in by April. This is the month to compare net prices, ask aid offices about renewal conditions, and request a review if your finances have changed since the tax year the form asked about.

May

Spring

Decision time.

Many colleges ask admitted students to decide by around the start of May. Check each college's stated date. After choosing, accept the grants on the chosen college's offer through its student portal.

June

Early summer

Close out the current year.

The federal deadline for a FAFSA is June 30 at the end of the school year it covers. Students who never filed for the current year should check studentaid.gov before that day. College and state dates for the next year are much earlier.

July

Summer

A new award year begins.

The federal award year starts on July 1. Fall bills often appear in July or August with expected grants shown as credits. Confirm your enrollment level, since part-time terms reduce a Pell Grant.

August

Summer

Grants reach the bill.

Colleges apply grants to the first term bill around the start of classes. Any amount left after charges are paid is usually refunded to the student for books and living costs.

September

Late summer

Get ready to repeat.

Returning students file a new FAFSA every year. Use September to update StudentAid.gov passwords, gather the next tax return, and check that the grants you were offered renew.

How the reminder texts follow this calendar

People who tick the aid calendar box on the get-started form receive short reminders when a season on this page begins or an entry is updated. Every reminder names the calendar entry and links back here. Subscribers all get one shared set of reminders rather than personal deadline alerts, and we do not track your own college dates. Up to 8 messages per month. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Details are on the Texts page and in the SMS Terms.

Making the calendar your own

  1. Print this page or copy the twelve months onto a wall planner.
  2. Add the opening day of the FAFSA once studentaid.gov announces it.
  3. Add your state aid agency's priority date for the coming school year.
  4. Add each college's FAFSA priority date and any extra forms it requires.
  5. Add each college's decision date once offers arrive.