Why Today is the Most Important Day of the Year for College Students

Today marks the first day students can file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (the FAFSA) and the College Scholarship Service Profile (the CSS Profile) for the 2020-21 academic year. Students and parents alike often comment that student debt is there biggest worry pertaining to college, so it is best to apply early, because financial aid can run out.

The FAFSA is free, and the CSS charges $25 for the first school and $16 for each school after that. The CSS is often utilized for private institutions and is the second most widely-used document to evaluate candidates for financial aid. The CSS is often more thorough and complex, so budget a couple hours to fill it out.

Three states are now mandating that high schools seniors apply for federal financial aid as a prerequisite for high school graduation: Texas, Louisiana, and Illinois, and the result has been record secondary education enrollment. California, Michigan, the District of Columbia, and Indiana are considering adopting the policy.

See Brian Boswell, Why Today is the Most Important Day of the Year for College Students, Forbes, October 1, 2019.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.