Two important developments for families with high school seniors planning to go to college next year arrived close together this summer. The 2027–28 FAFSA is now in beta testing and will be publicly available by October 1, 2026.[1] Separately, new Parent PLUS borrowing limits took effect on July 1, 2026.
If you have a high school senior at home, both developments shape the next twelve months. The FAFSA feeds federal, state and college aid decisions for fall 2027, and the Parent PLUS loan that eligible parents could once use to cover a larger college funding gap now has a ceiling. Paying for college in 2027 is a different problem than it was two years ago.
Most families have not caught up. The Sallie and Ipsos “How America Pays for College 2026” report, released on August 12, found that only 25% of families know the FAFSA opens in October, and another 22% did not know when it opens at all.[2] On the borrowing side, 53% of surveyed college parents and students said they were not aware of the new Parent PLUS limits, while only 22% considered themselves fully aware.
The two dates that matter:
July 1, 2026 — new Parent PLUS loan limits took effect ·
October 1, 2026 — the 2027–28 FAFSA will be publicly available
First: The FAFSA Will Be Available by October 1
The 2027–28 FAFSA is the federal-aid application for students starting college in fall 2027 — which is your current senior. It uses 2025 federal tax information under the prior-prior-year model. If a job loss, pay cut, major medical expense or other special circumstance makes those numbers a poor reflection of what your family can pay now, submit the FAFSA and then ask each college’s financial aid office for an adjustment.
The form is in Phase 2 beta right now. Any student or contributor can request access at StudentAid.gov/joinbeta ↗, and admitted users submit an official 2027–28 FAFSA that schools can use for aid packaging.[3] Everyone else will have public access by October 1, 2026.
Why Filing in October Beats Filing in February
Federal Pell Grant and Direct Loan eligibility is not depleted from a first-come, first-served pool. The amount depends on factors including financial need, enrollment status, cost of attendance and year in school. That much of the “it doesn’t matter when you file” advice is true. It stops there.
State and college aid can be a different story. Many states have limited funds, some require a separate application, and colleges set their own priority deadlines for institutional grants and scholarships.[4] The important date is the earliest deadline set by your state or any college on your list, not the much later federal deadline.
The cost of not knowing this is measurable. Among families that did not file for 2025–26, 14% said they simply missed the deadline.[2]
Filing early can protect access to limited state, college, Federal Work-Study and campus-based grant funds.
Your September Checklist
Most families will file when public access opens, while families admitted to the federal beta can submit earlier. Either way, September is the time to remove the avoidable roadblocks.
- Create or confirm every required StudentAid.gov account ↗. The student and every required contributor need separate accounts. Depending on marital and tax-filing status, that may include a second parent, stepparent or spouse. Use the “Who’s My FAFSA Parent?” tool if you are unsure. New accounts can be used immediately to complete and sign the form.
- Locate your 2025 federal tax return. After each contributor gives consent, the FAFSA normally obtains federal tax information through a secure IRS transfer, but the form may still ask for additional figures. If someone was required to file a 2025 return and has not done so, do not guess: follow the form’s filing-status instructions and ask a college financial aid office or Federal Student Aid for guidance.
- List your colleges. The FAFSA sends results to up to 20 schools at once. Know where your student is applying so you can add them all the first time. Schools only see their own results, not the full list.
- Build one deadline list. Record the FAFSA, state-aid, admission, institutional-aid and merit-scholarship deadlines for every school. Some states require an additional application. The earliest applicable date is the one that controls your calendar.[4] The FAFSA & scholarship timeline shows which of these land in each year of high school.
- Inventory the assets you will report. The FAFSA may ask for current parent and student bank balances, investments and education-savings accounts for this student. Retirement accounts and the family’s primary home are not reported. Asset values are reported as of the date the form is signed. Distributions from grandparent-owned 529s no longer count as student income on the FAFSA form. Our college funding guide explains how each kind of account is treated, and the account comparison page puts them side by side.
- Check for the College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile or other college forms. Some colleges require the CSS Profile ↗, IDOC documents ↗, an institutional application or information from a noncustodial parent before they will award their own aid. Requirements and deadlines vary by school.[5]
- Run every college’s net price calculator. Use each school’s official calculator before applying. Compare the estimated net price over four years, including likely tuition increases, housing, fees and travel, and check whether scholarships are renewable.
Second: Parent PLUS Now Has a Ceiling
For periods of enrollment beginning on or after July 1, 2026, federal law capped Parent PLUS loans for the first time. For a student who does not qualify for the limited interim exception, all parents combined can borrow up to $20,000 per academic year and $65,000 in total per dependent student, subject to the cost of attendance, other aid, credit eligibility and any lower program limit set by the college. Before the change, an eligible parent could borrow up to the full cost of attendance, minus other aid, without a separate annual or aggregate Parent PLUS ceiling.[6]
The average family spent $34,019 on college in the 2025–26 academic year, up 10% from the year before.[2] At a higher-cost school, the new Parent PLUS limit can leave a significant gap even after other aid.
Consider a parent sending a child to a $50,000-per-year private university. Under the old rules, an eligible parent might have covered a $35,000 or $40,000 gap with a federal Parent PLUS loan. Under the new rules, Parent PLUS provides no more than $20,000 for the academic year, and the family must close the remaining gap through grants, scholarships, savings, work earnings, the student’s separate federal loan eligibility, a lower-cost school or, after comparing risks carefully, private credit.
Parent PLUS is legally the parent’s debt and requires a credit check. A dependent undergraduate’s standard Direct Loan limit remains separate: generally $5,500 for the first year, with no more than $3,500 subsidized.[7] New Parent PLUS debt is not eligible for the income-driven Repayment Assistance Plan, so parents should estimate the required payment before borrowing rather than assuming income-based relief will be available later.[8]
The new limits at a glance: Up to $20,000 per academic year across all parents · $65,000 aggregate per dependent student · Generally applies to periods of enrollment beginning on or after July 1, 2026
If You Already Have a Child in College
A limited interim exception may apply if the student was enrolled in the program before July 1, 2026 and a qualifying Direct Loan had already been made for that program. Under the exception, prior loan limits can continue for the lesser of three academic years or the student’s remaining expected time to credential, provided the student remains continuously enrolled.[6]
The trap for families with more than one child: the exception follows the eligible student and program, not the household. An older sibling who qualifies does nothing for the senior starting in fall 2027. That new student is subject to the new limits, which is exactly why the FAFSA, the scholarship search, and a realistic school list carry more weight this cycle than they may have for your first child. Our college funding guide walks through how to build that plan.
Do not infer eligibility from one disbursement date. Ask the college’s financial aid office to confirm whether the student and program qualify for the interim exception, then use that answer to build the plan for later years.
The Savings Gap Is Widening from Both Ends
In a separate College Ave survey, parents who had saved for college reported setting aside $37,897 on average — down from $51,310 the prior year.[9] Sallie’s national study, using a different sample and methodology, found that average college spending rose 10%. Both findings point in the same direction, but they should not be read as measurements of the same families.
How families actually paid for college in 2025–26:
- 49% from family income and savings, out of pocket
- 27% from grants and scholarships
- 22% from borrowing
Federal student loans were used by 25% of families, and those who borrowed took an average of $9,186.[2]
The college savings calculator on this site will show you what a monthly contribution has to be to hit a target by enrollment. The math is less frightening than most families expect when they start early.
The Aid Offer Is Not the Final Offer
Before filling a funding gap with Parent PLUS or private loans, read the college’s financial aid offer line by line and ask questions. One-third of surveyed families who received an offer appealed or asked the school for more assistance, and 70% of those who appealed received additional aid.[2] A change in family income, unusual expenses, a competing offer from another college, or information the original application did not capture can all give the aid office a reason to reconsider.
Families also need to separate aid from debt. Among respondents whose offers included student loans, 21% believed those loans had to be accepted.[2] They do not! A loan listed in an aid offer is optional, and its amount should never be read as if it were a grant. Ask the school to label every line as a grant, a scholarship, a work-study award, a student loan, or a parent loan before you accept the package.
Push the conversation past the freshman bill, too. Only 44% of surveyed families discussed what all four years would cost, 38% discussed likely starting salaries after graduation, and 31% discussed who would repay the student loans.[2] Under the new Parent PLUS limits that matters more than it used to: a workable freshman-year package can still turn into an unaffordable four-year plan when the borrowing ceiling arrives in year two.
For every offer, estimate four years of net price, not four years of today’s tuition. Check likely annual increases, whether grants and scholarships renew automatically, the grade or enrollment rules attached to them, and what happens to the package if the student moves off campus or takes five years to graduate.
The Scholarship Gap Nobody Talks About
Sallie and Ipsos found that 74% of families who did not receive a scholarship never applied for one.[2] Scholarships covered 15% of total college spending for families who used them — an average of $8,291 per recipient per year. That is real money that does not have to be repaid and does not come with a cap.
Most scholarship applications are not complicated, and many are local — community foundations, employers, civic organizations — where the competition is far thinner than for national awards. The single biggest barrier is not applying. The federal grants and scholarships guide covers where to look and what to prioritize, and the FAFSA & scholarship timeline for high school lays out what to do in each year, starting in junior year.
If Your Child Is Younger Than a Senior
The new limits make early saving more valuable. Our college funding guide explains the full funding stack, while the account comparison page shows how common savings accounts interact with financial aid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does filing the FAFSA as soon as it is available guarantee more financial aid?
No. Filing early does not increase federal Pell Grant or Direct Loan eligibility, but it can protect access to limited state, college, Federal Work-Study and campus-based grant funds. The important deadline is the earliest one set by your state or any college on your list — not the federal deadline.
What if our 2025 tax return is not filed yet?
The 2027–28 FAFSA uses 2025 tax information. The form normally obtains federal tax information through a secure IRS transfer after each required contributor gives consent. If you were required to file a 2025 return but have not done so, do not guess: follow the form’s filing-status instructions and contact a college financial aid office or Federal Student Aid for guidance.
Does the Parent PLUS cap apply if my child is already in college?
A limited interim exception may apply if the student was enrolled in the program before July 1, 2026 and a qualifying Direct Loan had already been made for that program. It lasts for the lesser of three years or the student’s remaining expected time to credential, provided the student remains continuously enrolled. Ask the school’s financial aid office to confirm eligibility. A younger sibling starting college in fall 2027 is subject to the new limits.
What happens when families hit the $20,000 cap and still need more?
Start with grants, scholarships, savings, work earnings, a less expensive school, and the student’s separate federal Direct Loan eligibility. Then ask the college to reconsider the aid offer if your circumstances or competing offers support an appeal. Private loans may fill a remaining gap, but rates and approval depend on credit and they generally lack federal borrower protections.
Does our 529 balance affect the FAFSA?
A parent-owned 529 for the student is reported as a parental asset. In the federal formula, reportable parental assets can increase the Student Aid Index by up to approximately 5.64% of their value, although the actual change — and any effect on aid — may be smaller or zero. A dependent student’s own 529 is also treated as a parental asset.
The Bottom Line
If you have a senior, September is your prep month: confirm every required StudentAid.gov ↗ account, find the 2025 return, build one list of state and college deadlines, check for the CSS Profile, list the schools and run their net price calculators. Submit the FAFSA as soon as you can, then review the FAFSA Submission Summary for missing content, rejected information or other required action. Complete any separate state or college forms, respond quickly to verification requests, and compare aid offers over four years before deciding what your family can afford.
