FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) FAFSA

The FAFSA is the gateway to federal student aid. Students and, for dependent students, their parents report income and family information, much of it now pulled directly from IRS records, and the form calculates a Student Aid Index that schools use to decide how much need-based aid a student gets. Most states and many colleges also use it for their own aid. The form opens each fall, around October 1, for the following school year, and some state and school deadlines come early.

The FAFSA Simplification Act of 2020 cut the form from more than 100 questions to fewer than 50, replaced the Expected Family Contribution with the Student Aid Index, and expanded Pell Grant eligibility. The redesigned form launched late and with errors for the 2024-25 school year, delaying aid offers for months and contributing to a drop in completions. The 2026-27 form opened on schedule, and completions recovered.

Every year many eligible students, especially from low-income families, do not file, leaving aid unclaimed, so some states require high school seniors to complete it or opt out. Applicants must have a Social Security number, and families with a parent who lacks one have faced technical problems. With the Education Department shrinking its staff in 2025 and 2026, how the form and aid system are managed has become part of the debate over the department's future.