Is It Too Late to Do My FAFSA?

When is the deadline for the FAFSA? I get that question often. My answer? There isn’t really a deadline as such. Each college has a priority date, and it is definitely recommended that you get the FAFSA in to a college by its priority date. Those can really vary. In Iowa, the earliest priority date is Dec. 1 and they can range from then until July 1. If applying to and sending the FAFSA to multiple schools, you should check out all of the priority dates of those colleges and submit it by the earliest one. Submitting the FAFSA by the priority date is the best way to ensure receiving the most possible financial aid for which you qualify.

So now some of the priority date have passed. “What do I do if the priority date has passed? Is it too late to do the FAFSA?” I get those questions often as well. The answer: No – it’s not too late. Complete and submit the FAFSA as soon as possible. You may have missed out on some type of aid or a scholarship, but you can still be eligible for certain types of aid. Students – traditional and non-traditional – make decisions at very different times about going to college. In a perfect world, we’d all know exactly what we want to do way ahead of time and never ever have a problem getting that FAFSA done by any priority date. But we don’t live in a perfect world – so if you miss a priority date – do the FAFSA as soon as you can.

If you are an Iowa student going to an Iowa college, know that the priority date for any of the state aid is July 1, meaning the FAFSA must be submitted by then. This would include the Last Dollar Scholarship, which is for students going into high demand programs. Do students sometimes not decide to go to college until after that date? Absolutely. Do they miss out on that state aid then? Yes, they do – although the Last Dollar Scholarship deadline has been extended some years. Is there still federal aid available? Typically, yes – but I would never wait that late on purpose to do your FAFSA, because you just never know! (Side note: there is an extra Iowa Financial Aid Application that is the source for some extra scholarships for Iowa students going to Iowa colleges. Some of those scholarships have deadlines as early as March 1. To be eligible for any of those, you’d need to submit the FAFSA and the Iowa Financial Aid Application by March 1. The link to the Iowa Financial Aid Application: https://icaps.iowacollegeaid.gov/ICAPS/ApplicationProcess/ApplicationMainPage.aspx)

Bottom line – it is ALWAYS best to submit your FAFSA by the priority date of the college (or earliest priority date if sending to multiple schools). But, if you miss a priority date or just make a late decision about attending college, do the FAFSA anyway. It’s free. It’s the only way to be eligible for federal and state aid. Often colleges require it for their scholarships (another reason to submit by priority date and scholarship deadlines.)

For a list of Iowa college/university financial aid priority dates, visit: https://www.icansucceed.org/priority If you are sending the FAFSA to an out-of-state schools and need their financial aid priority date, check their websites, call the financial aid office of the school, or search for it online (I’ve found many of them that way). 

If you would like help with your FAFSA, we are still doing virtual appointments for anyone, and we have limited in-person appointments at our Hiawatha Office and our Davenport Office. To schedule, call us at 877-272-4692 OR book your own appointment at: https://www.icansucceed.org/apt.


 Mary Joan Dougherty - ICAN Hiawatha Center