FAFSA 2027-28: Why Every Family Should File and What to Do Before October 1

FAFSA season is almost here, and for families with a Class of 2027 student, October 1 is an important date to have on your radar.

But preparing for the FAFSA isn’t just about waiting for the application to open. There are steps families can take now to make the process easier, avoid costly mistakes, and make sure they’re positioned for as much financial aid as possible.

In this episode of Old College Try, College Aid Pro Co-Founder Matt Carpenter and Director of Education Peg Keough break down the FAFSA basics, why they recommend virtually every family submit it, what’s changing for the 2027-28 FAFSA, and what parents and students should be doing before October arrives.

What Is the FAFSA?

FAFSA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It’s the primary financial aid application used by colleges across the country to determine a student’s eligibility for federal—and often institutional—financial aid.

Families can submit the FAFSA to up to 20 colleges at a time. While a smaller group of schools also requires an additional financial aid application, the FAFSA is the form most families will encounter during the college process.

For families with seniors graduating in 2027, this is the FAFSA cycle that matters now. Younger families don’t need to file yet, but understanding how the process works can make future financial aid planning much easier.

Should Every Family Submit the FAFSA?

One of the most common reasons families skip the FAFSA is simple:

“We make too much money to qualify for financial aid.”

Matt and Peg strongly caution families against making that assumption.

Financial aid eligibility depends on far more than income alone. The college itself, family finances, assets, and other factors can all affect what a family ultimately qualifies for.

A family earning $300,000 could still potentially qualify for aid at certain institutions. The only way to understand your actual eligibility is to look at your family’s financial situation alongside the schools your student is considering.

And even if you don’t qualify for traditional need-based financial aid, filing the FAFSA can still matter.

Completing the FAFSA gives eligible students access to Federal Direct Student Loans, and some colleges require a FAFSA on file before students can receive certain merit scholarships.

In other words, don’t eliminate yourself before the college does.

Skipping the FAFSA Freshman Year Could Create Problems Later

There’s another reason families should think carefully before deciding not to apply for financial aid.

Your financial circumstances can change.

A job loss, unexpected hardship, change in income, or other major financial event could leave your family needing assistance later.

Peg explains that at some colleges, not applying for need-based financial aid freshman year can make it more difficult to receive institutional assistance in subsequent years. The school may have already categorized your family as one that doesn’t require financial aid.

That’s another reason filing the FAFSA can provide families with additional flexibility—even if they don’t expect to receive significant aid today.

Will Applying for Financial Aid Hurt College Admissions Chances?

Parents sometimes worry that checking “yes” when asked whether they intend to apply for financial aid will hurt their student’s chances of admission.

Matt and Peg’s advice is straightforward: if you need financial aid, say so.

If cost is even a slight concern, families shouldn’t avoid applying for assistance simply because they’re afraid it could affect an admissions decision.

More importantly, getting accepted to a college your family ultimately cannot afford doesn’t solve the problem.

Matt shares an example of a family whose student was eligible for meaningful financial aid but had not indicated that they planned to apply for it. After the student was accepted, the college wouldn’t provide the aid they otherwise may have received.

The lesson: don’t sacrifice affordability just to increase the possibility of an acceptance.

A New FAFSA Change: Be Prepared for ID Verification

One of the biggest updates families should know about for the 2027-28 FAFSA is a new identity verification process.

Not everyone will encounter it.

However, if a student is flagged for verification while completing the FAFSA, they’ll need to prove their identity in real time. Peg recommends having an acceptable form of identification nearby, such as a U.S. passport, driver’s license, state-issued identification, military or tribal identification, or permanent resident card.

Because the process is timed, this isn’t something you want to discover while your student’s ID is sitting in a drawer somewhere else in the house.

Matt also recommends that parents and students complete the FAFSA together this year. If the student is selected for verification, they may need to be physically present to complete the process.

If you experience a technical or verification issue close to a financial aid deadline, document it. Screenshots and other records can help demonstrate to a college that you attempted to submit the FAFSA on time.

Does the FAFSA Need to Be Submitted on October 1?

Student Aid Index Calculator — FAFSA Test Drive with MyCAP

The 2027-28 FAFSA is expected to open October 1, but October 1 itself isn’t a financial aid deadline.

Families don’t need to panic and submit the application the minute it becomes available.

In fact, the first days can bring heavy website traffic and potential technical issues. Instead, Peg recommends identifying the priority financial aid deadline for every college on your student’s list. Those deadlines can vary based on the college and whether the student is applying Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision, or through another admission plan.

For many families, the goal should simply be to get the FAFSA completed comfortably within October and well before the earliest applicable deadline.

Is FAFSA Financial Aid First Come, First Served?

This is one of the biggest FAFSA myths.

Submitting the FAFSA on October 1 doesn’t automatically mean you’ll receive more college financial aid than someone who submits it several days later.

What matters most is meeting each school’s applicable priority deadline.

If a college has a November 1 priority deadline, for example, a FAFSA submitted October 5 and one submitted October 25 would generally both satisfy that deadline.

But don’t confuse that with permission to procrastinate.

Missing a deadline can absolutely cost families money. Peg notes that she’s seen situations where late financial aid forms resulted in families receiving significantly less grant aid.

Some state aid programs can also have different timing considerations, so families should know both their college and state requirements.

The safest strategy is to complete the FAFSA early enough to leave yourself breathing room if something goes wrong.

What Can Families Do Before the FAFSA Opens?

You can’t submit the 2027-28 FAFSA yet, but there’s one important task you can complete now:

Create your FSA IDs.

An FSA ID is the username and password used to access and complete federal student aid forms. The student needs their own FSA ID, and required parent contributors need their own as well.

These accounts are individual—not family accounts—and should use separate email addresses.

For parents who are married and file taxes jointly, typically only one parent will need to participate as a contributor. Other family structures, including married-filing-separately and divorced or separated households, can have different requirements.

Getting those accounts established now means one less task to worry about when FAFSA season officially begins.

Divorced and Separated Parents Should Start Planning Now

The FAFSA rules for divorced and separated families can be particularly confusing.

For FAFSA purposes, the parent considered the “custodial parent” isn’t necessarily the parent the student lives with most, the parent who claims the student on their tax return, or the parent named in a custody agreement.

Under the rules discussed by Matt and Peg, the relevant parent is generally the one who provided the greater amount of financial support during the applicable lookback period.

That distinction can have a significant impact on financial aid eligibility, which is why split-household families shouldn’t wait until October to figure out who needs to complete the form.

Parents and Students Have Different Jobs in the College Process

Matt also makes an important distinction about how families can divide responsibilities during senior year.

College applications, essays, and the student’s personal story should largely belong to the student. Parents can certainly provide guidance and another set of eyes, but students need to own their application.

Financial aid is different.

FAFSA questions can involve adjusted gross income, taxes, assets, and other financial information most teenagers have never dealt with before. Matt recommends that parents take a much more active role in this part of the process.

That doesn’t mean completing everything without your student—especially with this year’s verification changes—but parents should be prepared to take the lead on gathering and understanding the financial information.

Don’t Just File the FAFSA—Understand What College Will Cost

Completing the FAFSA is only one part of building an affordable college plan.

Before applications start going out, families should already be asking a bigger question:

If my student gets accepted, can we actually afford this school?

Matt and Peg encourage families to look at the projected four-year cost, not simply freshman year’s price.

A college costing $70,000 or even $100,000+ annually can’t be approached with a “we’ll figure it out after they get in” mindset. Families need to understand their likely financial aid, scholarships, net cost, and remaining funding gap before becoming emotionally committed to a school.

That conversation may not always be easy, but it’s far easier to set expectations now than to discover a school is unaffordable after an acceptance letter arrives.

The Bottom Line

The FAFSA doesn’t need to be another source of senior-year stress.

Start preparing before October 1. Create your FSA IDs, understand which parent or parents will need to contribute information, research each college’s financial aid deadlines, and have the necessary identification ready in case your student is selected for verification.

Most importantly, don’t skip the FAFSA simply because you assume your family won’t qualify for aid.

The goal isn’t just to submit another form. It’s to give your student access to every financial aid opportunity available while making sure your family understands the true cost of college before making a commitment.

As Matt and Peg emphasize, planning ahead can make this process far less stressful—and help your student find a college where they can thrive without creating an unaffordable financial burden.