WASHINGTON — The 2027-28 Free Application for Federal Student Aid launched in the earliest rollout in the program’s history on Sept. 25, marking the second consecutive year the form has opened ahead of its traditional schedule.
The early opening is designed to give the millions of students and families who rely on federal financial aid more time to complete the form, compare aid offers and make informed enrollment decisions before deadlines arrive.
The launch represents a significant stabilization milestone for the federal student aid system, which was plagued by delays, technical failures and processing backlogs in recent years. The troubled rollout of the simplified FAFSA form two years ago disrupted financial aid timelines for millions of students and contributed to enrollment declines at colleges and universities nationwide.
Federal Student Aid, the office within the Department of Education that administers the FAFSA, said the application is available online and through mobile devices for the approximately 17 million students expected to apply for aid for the 2027-28 academic year.
The FAFSA determines eligibility for federal Pell Grants, student loans, work-study programs and many state and institutional aid packages. For low- and middle-income families, completing the form is the essential first step in accessing college affordability.
Higher education groups have welcomed the early launch. Admissions and financial aid professionals have long argued that a timely FAFSA release is critical to ensuring students — particularly first-generation and low-income applicants — have adequate time to navigate the aid process.
The consecutive record-early launches signal that the operational problems that disrupted the aid cycle have been substantially addressed. The Department of Education has invested in system upgrades and user experience improvements following bipartisan congressional criticism of prior failures.
Students and families can access the FAFSA at studentaid.gov.