Applying to colleges and career schools can be stressful. For many people, money is a big concern. But you can often get help covering costs. To start, fill out FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The Big Picture
- Are you applying to more than one school? Just fill out one FAFSA—it lets you select up to 20 schools.
- Federal loans, grants, and work-study jobs are awarded based on FAFSA info.
- Many states and schools use your FAFSA—sometimes along with other info—to award their own grants, loans, and scholarships.
- Check with your state, along with the schools you apply to, to see if they need additional info.
- Note: some scholarships can be applied for directly.
- After you submit your FAFSA, you’ll get a student aid report. This will list the financial aid each school is offering. It will also tell you your expected school costs for one year.
- If you’re accepted to more than one school, compare offers. Let schools know if you expect to get other financial aid, such as scholarships.
Deadlines
The FAFSA application period for the 2025–2026 school year has begun!
To decide when to fill out the FAFSA, keep this in mind—there are different application deadlines:
- School
- State
- Federal
How do you navigate all these deadlines? Here’s a hack. Find the earliest deadline—and apply as soon as possible before then. (We’ll say this again at the end of this article, because it’s so important!)
School
School deadlines are usually earlier than state and federal deadlines. Find each school’s website. Then search for “financial aid.” If you don’t see the FAFSA deadline, call the school’s financial aid office.
If you miss a school deadline, contact the school’s financial aid office.
State
This deadline is for the state you live in, not the states of the schools you’re applying to. Here are the dates for each state.
If you miss your state deadline, contact your state’s education agency.
Federal—June 30, 2026
You can still apply for financial aid near the end of the 2024–2025 school year. But since there may not be any aid left by then, it’s best to apply as soon as you can.
Pro Tips
- Apply as early as possible!
- Financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
- …And there’s a limited amount available.
- Since you fill out just one FAFSA, you need to submit it before the earliest deadline (federal + state + all schools). Not sure what that is yet? Follow these steps:
- First, find and write down the deadline for your state (where you live).
- Next, find and list the deadlines for every school you’ll be applying to.
- Then, find the earliest deadline of all of these. Submit your FAFSA as soon as possible before this deadline.
- Afraid you’ll forget? Set an alarm for a week before. Put it on Post-it notes. And maybe ask friends, family, or your faithful dog or cat to remind you!
