When do financial aid applications open??

[DrHugs]

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FAFSA doesn't open until Jan 2014. And I know that it will depend on the school, but all of the schools that I have looked at still only have 2013-2014 info and applications up, they don't have anything about financial aid for 2014-2015. So in general, when will students be able to start applying for 2014-2015? Am I worrying about financial aid stuff too soon?

Also, on FAFSA, is it better to submit before or after deciding between schools? The reason I ask is because the application has an option to add multiple colleges. Should I put all of the schools that I am considering attending (and submit early), or only the one I plan on attending (after I decide, which may not be until May)?

 

[darkjedi]

Once you are accepted, the financial aid office at your school will send you more information about what additional financial aid forms you might have to fill out to qualify for institutional aid. It is definitely quite early in the process, so if you haven't heard yet, don't worry about it.

The FAFSA is specifically for government loans, so just send that out to every school you applied to if you'd like once the 2014 FAFSA opens. Most people will qualify for the maximum loan amounts anyway. The school will likely not use your FAFSA information in determining their own institutional aid however.