FAFSA Resource Library: Planning Calendar

FAFSA Planning Calendar 📅

Use this timeline to plan activities throughout the FAFSA completion cycle.

You can also download a printable version of this calendar with at-a-glance reminders of important milestones for supporting your students' FAFSA completion.

Start planning your FAFSA work for the year, and make sure to include partners in this process.
Cultivate new partnerships and strengthen old ones. Are there less-obvious partners you should include?
Identify current or potential champion(s) for this work.
Start getting the word out to students and families about the why, when, and how of FAFSA completion.

Continue planning as well as creating and strengthening partnerships.
Clarify partner roles and responsibilities.
Make sure you are up to date on changes to the FAFSA form for the upcoming cycle.
Start getting the message out to students. Help them create an FSA ID.
Provide training to partners and FAFSA completion helpers.
Set dates for FAFSA completion event(s).

The new FAFSA opens on Oct. 1!
Plan and hold kickoff events – start with energy!
Train partners on how they can help with FAFSA completion efforts.
Launch outreach/communication campaigns and messaging. Make sure to start dispelling myths.
Host FAFSA completion event(s).
Do you have access to student-level FAFSA completion data? If not, learn how to get that information.

Continue to offer large- and small-group FAFSA completion events, both in school and in the community, along with one-on-one assistance where possible.
Target students with unique/less common situations, and make sure you can assist them. Help ensure early decision applicants meet the FAFSA deadlines.
Make sure you know how to help students with financial aid appeals and interpret financial aid offers, which may start coming in by now.

Ensure you have access to student-level FAFSA completion data, and work to make that happen if you don’t.
Use those data to target and reach out to non-completers.
Keep doing what you’ve been doing. Focus on small-group and one-on-one FAFSA completion assistance, if possible.
Keep the momentum going through targeted communications to students and parents.
Continue assisting students with atypical situations and helping them understand aid offers. (It couldn’t hurt to start helping students identify scholarships too.)
Continue to host FAFSA completion event(s).
Help students complete the FAFSA verification process.
Regularly share FAFSA data with administrators and partners.

Keep the momentum going through continued outreach, events, and FAFSA completion data analysis.

This is it. Get those last few students to complete the FAFSA before they leave for the summer and become more difficult to reach.
Start all over again, and begin thinking about how to refine and strengthen your FAFSA completion work for next year!