“Students applying for financial aid need to remember a new important date – Oct. 1. That is now the day students can begin submitting their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Based on changes passed in 2015, this year and every year going forward, students will be able to file their 2017-18 FAFSA starting on Oct. 1. In the past, the financial aid application was not available until January first.”
“The free FAFSA Day is taking place earlier than in years past, according to Joey Trogdon, assistant director of financial aid and veterans affairs for RCC, because of federal regulation changes. Students can file their FAFSAs earlier, as early as Oct. 1, 2016, rather than beginning on Jan. 1, 2017, and students can use earlier income information. For the 2017-18 FAFSA, students (and parents, as appropriate) will report their 2015 income information, rather than their 2016 income information.”
“Students returning or entering into college in fall 2017 can start applications for federal and state financial aid as early as Saturday — an earlier date than in past years. Previously students had to wait until the first of the year to begin the process. ”
Read the complete article at Star News Online.
