Seniors starting college in fall 2027 file the 2027-28 forms now: the FAFSA at studentaid.gov and the CSS Profile where required. Your earliest school deadline is your real deadline.
If you are a senior planning to start college in fall 2027, the financial aid forms you need are the 2027-28 ones, and both are open now. File the FAFSA at studentaid.gov and the CSS Profile at cssprofile.collegeboard.org. Federal Student Aid's own site confirms the 2027-28 FAFSA form is available today, checked October 17, 2026. The CSS Profile opens each year on October 1, so the 2027-28 form is live now too, and the College Board's site confirms it is free for families who make up to $100,000 a year.
The federal deadline of June 30, 2028 is not your deadline. Your state and each college on your list set their own, often months earlier, and some aid is awarded first-come, first-served. The earliest deadline on your list is your real deadline. Make a list of every school's financial aid deadline now, then work backward.
Every college that gives need-based aid uses the FAFSA. It produces a number called the Student Aid Index, which schools combine with their cost of attendance to estimate your need. You will need a StudentAid.gov account, and if you are a dependent student, a parent or spouse may need to complete a contributor section. Both forms use prior-prior-year tax data, so for the 2027-28 year you use 2025 tax returns, which most families already have.
Three things seniors get wrong:
Hundreds of colleges and scholarship programs use the CSS Profile to award their own institutional grants, on top of federal aid. Check the participating-schools list on the College Board's CSS Profile site before you start, because not every school wants it, and you pay per school: $25 for the first report and $16 for each additional one. The fee is waived automatically if your family's annual adjusted gross income is less than $100,000, if you received an SAT fee waiver, or if you are an orphan or ward of the court under 24.
The CSS Profile digs deeper than the FAFSA. It asks about home equity, business value, and in some cases the noncustodial parent's finances, and many schools then ask you to upload tax documents through the Institutional Documentation Service, called IDOC. Each school sets its own CSS Profile deadline. Schools with Early Decision or Early Action rounds often want it in November or December, while Regular Decision deadlines typically fall between January and March. Read each college's financial aid page, not a third-party calendar, for the date that applies to you.
Sources: Federal Student Aid FAFSA announcement, CSS Profile home page, NerdWallet's CSS Profile guide (fee schedule, fee-waiver rules, typical deadline ranges), and NerdWallet's FAFSA deadline page (federal deadline June 30, 2028; 2027-28 form opened September 23, 2026), all checked October 17, 2026.
Updated October 17, 2026. Our editorial approach
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