Attending college in the 2025-2026 academic year? One of the top bullet points on your to do list should be to complete the 2025-2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)!
We know what some of you are thinking.. “The application is too hard!” Others may be thinking.. “Why would I complete the FAFSA? I don’t get any aid anyway.”
We recognize that the FAFSA isn’t always easy to complete, especially as a result of the issues with the 2024-2025 application. We also totally understand that not everyone receives free money as a result of filing, but hear us out.. there are several benefits to filing a FAFSA that could help you afford the cost of your education and save money!
First, we want to take a moment to recognize that rollout of the 2024-2025 FAFSA has in some cases made it very difficult for students to receive aid and for schools to process aid. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is aware of these challenges and is taking steps to ensure that the issues students, families and schools have faced with the 2024-2025 FAFSA and financial aid cycle are resolved going forward. After reviewing feedback from students, families and schools on the 24-25 FAFSA and financial aid cycle, they are taking steps to ensure the coding within the application is seamless, to add additional language and features to the application to ensure it is easier to understand and to properly test the application before it is made available to the general public. As a result, ED delayed the launch of the 2025-2026 application. The 2025-2026 FAFSA will be made available by December 1, 2024.
If anyone had a difficult time with the 2024-2025 application, please don’t let it deter you from completing the 2025-2026 application! The fact that ED has taken responsibility for the issues that students, families and schools continue to deal with as a result of the 2024-2025 FAFSA and are devoting the proper time and resources to fixing these issues, while utilizing the public’s feedback in order to do so is very promising! If you do encounter any issues with the application once it becomes available in December, just remember, we’re in this together! Our office will once again be hosting FAFSA completion sessions this spring! Look out for dates and times for those coming soon! We are also always here to help! Feel free to stop by the office, email or call if you have any questions!
For those of you who don’t want to complete the FAFSA because you don’t think you’ll receive any free money as a result of filing, file anyway! Check out the top three reasons you should file the FAFSA below!
- The FAFSA determines your eligibility for Federal, State and some institutional aid programs! If you don’t file, you may not be considered for additional aid opportunities from the university.
- If you were offered an institutional merit-based scholarship, you are required to complete the FAFSA each year to ensure you are maximizing all aid available. No FAFSA = No scholarship
- If you’re planning on borrowing to help cover your costs, the Federal Direct loans offered through filing the FAFSA are offered at a low interest rate- lower than many private loans! Utilizing Federal Direct loans first and then utilizing private loans to cover any additional gap that they do not cover could save you thousands in interest over the years!
When it doubt, just know that completing the FAFSA will never hurt you- it can only help! It’s free to complete and should only take a few minutes of your time! And, as we mentioned above, we’re always here to help! If you have any questions before, during or after completing the application, just let us know! Visit stockton.edu/fafsa to learn more about the FAFSA and the next steps in the financial aid process!
You’ve got this, Ospreys! File at fafsa.gov after December 1, 2024, but be sure to file by April 15, 2025 so you don’t miss the deadline to be considered for state aid and the Stockton Promise!
Please note: Only students who are U.S. Citizens and eligible non-citizens should complete the FAFSA. Students who identify as NJ Dreamers should complete the NJ Alternative Application at hesaa.org.