The FAFSA opens by October 1. Here's the short version.

When it opens

Federal Student Aid says the 2027–28 FAFSA will be released to the public by October 1, 2026. Beta testing started August 5 with a limited group, and a wider second phase was running by August 25. By October 1 is the commitment — not a named opening day. For the dates that actually decide whether your family gets state money, see which FAFSA deadline actually matters; several states award aid until the money runs out, which is the whole argument for filing the first week.

What to have ready

1. A StudentAid.gov account for the student and for each parent who has to participate. Every contributor needs their own — no sharing, and one email or phone number per account. Studentaid.gov recommends creating them now, before the form opens. Not sure which parent counts? Its Who's My FAFSA Parent? wizard takes most people less than five minutes.

2. Your federal tax return, on hand. Most figures transfer straight from the IRS once each contributor gives consent — and that consent is required even from a parent who filed no return. Keep the return nearby anyway; the form can ask follow-up questions. The form tells you which tax year to report. Don't substitute a different year.

3. Current balances for cash, checking, savings, investments, and any business or farm. These are reported as of the day you sign, not the tax year.

4. A list of schools — up to 20. List any school your student might apply to, even long shots. Schools can be removed later; wait to add one and you could miss out on its aid. Some states require a particular school order for state aid, and the form will tell you if yours does.

Two things the form doesn't count

The home you live in, and retirement savings — 401(k)s, pensions, annuities, non-education IRAs. Federal Student Aid lists both as not investments on the form, so neither belongs in your asset answers.

Filing tells you what one school offers. It doesn't tell you which schools fit. See the real price at your income band before offers arrive. Start free →

"We make too much" — measured

The federal data puts every family earning above $110,000 in one income band. Of the 2,411 colleges in our data that report every band and a sticker price, aided families in that top band paid:

$4,717 under sticker at the median college. At least $10,000 under sticker at 819 of them (34.0%). At or above sticker at 122.

School	Sticker / yr	$110k+ families paid
Boston University	$86,285	$47,504
Cornell University	$88,140	$49,992
Northeastern University	$84,641	$47,696
USC	$90,300	$56,116
Syracuse University	$84,517	$55,401
New York University	$84,374	$66,876
UC Berkeley	$45,619	$34,529
Georgia Tech	$28,167	$17,396
University of Michigan	$34,654	$26,517

Public-school figures reflect in-state families. "Paid" is the federally reported average net price for first-time, full-time students in that income band who received federal aid — planning data, not an offer.

The honest caveat

Those averages count only families who were awarded federal aid — and under the federal definition, that includes families whose only federal aid was a loan (NCES). So they are not what every family above $110,000 pays. A high-earning family can get no grant at all at a given school, and the band lumps together everyone from $110,001 up. What the numbers do show: at a third of colleges, top-band families who filed and received aid paid at least $10,000 under sticker. Families who never file aren't in that count at all.

One unlock does hold at any income: federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans. "Financial need is not an eligibility requirement," per the Federal Student Aid Handbook — but the FAFSA is how you get to them.

The whole thing, in order

This week: make the StudentAid.gov accounts. Put your filed tax returns where you can reach them.

The week it opens: file. List every school your student might apply to.

Same week: check your state's rule on the official deadline list.