Secure Financial Aid for the 2026-2027 Academic Year
Learn how to fill out the FAFSA and complete your college application process.
Got a student attending college next fall? Discover how you can help with both the admissions and process and ensure your student has the best chance at a college that puts their passions in practice.
Required for all new and returning undergraduate and graduate students who want to receive federal financial aid — as well as be considered for many scholarships — the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be submitted every year you’re enrolled in college.
But with all the forms and paperwork required for the university experience, it’s easy for the FAFSA to get lost in the shuffle, especially with its perceived complexity.
Fortunately, changes in the last few years have streamlined the process considerably, making the FAFSA not only easier, but more accessible, expanding your access to financial aid.
Fewer questions, more support and less red tape mean completing your 2026-2027 FAFSA is free from the headaches that plagued it in the past.
See what you need to prepare for the FAFSA so you can get the money you need to kickstart a lifelong career.
When Does the 2026-2027 FAFSA Open?
The 2026-2027 FAFSA is currently available.
It is generally best to fill our the FAFSA as soon as possible.
However, contrary to what you may have heard before, you do not need to complete your admissions application and FAFSA at the same time.
Rather, you can submit your FAFSA after you have completed your Common App, and in some cases, even after you have received an admissions decision.
What is the Deadline for the 2026-2027 FAFSA?
The FAFSA deadline for the 2026-2027 application is June 30, 2027, giving applicants the entire 2026-27 academic year to complete their FAFSA.
While this means that you have ample time to find how much federal assistance you can receive in the form of student loans, scholarships at the colleges you’ve applied to are limited and frequently run out well before this deadline.
It is for this reason that those seeking financial aid in the form of scholarships should submit their FAFSA as soon as possible, ensuring that the funds you need are available.
These scholarships can lower the cost of attending the college you’re passionate about by nearly 40%, but many are only available once a student has submitted their FAFSA.
While the deadline set by the Department of Education is generous, submitting early on in the college application process ensures you have everything you need to make your university decision.
Are There New Changes to the 2026-2027 FAFSA?
The 2024-2025 FAFSA introduced a wide range of changes to the application process, all of which helped make the form faster and more accessible for students and their families.
These updates to the FAFSA included reducing the number of questions from 108 to just 36, establishing more ways for single parents to receive aid and making the verification process much more simple.
If you filled out the FAFSA last year or the year before, the form should be very similar. But if it's been many years since you filled out the FAFSA, you'll find the process might be a little different (and simpler) than you remember.
How Long Does it Take to Fill Out the 2026-2027 FAFSA?
Previous versions of the FAFSA have taken a long time to fill out and submit, with complicated questions and a large variety of required information from both prospective students and their families.
With the current form, though, the Department of Education claims that, for most applicants, filling out the current FAFSA — including gathering all the necessary personal documents — takes less than an hour.
Automatically included tax information, simple verification and easily adding school codes to your application (Pacific’s code is 003212) combine to make filling out the FAFSA as easy as possible.
Of course, coming prepared can make it go even faster, and prospective students should communicate with their parents or guardians about .
Filling out your FAFSA is just one piece of the college application process. Submit your admissions application today through the Common App and begin a degree that leads to a lifelong career.