If you’ve got a kid who’ll be in college, tech school, or grad school in the fall of 2025, you need this article. Skim over the main points, and then come back and read the ones you need most.
If you have younger children, subscribe to my free email newsletter here, and I’ll send you the FAFSA information that you’re going to need exactly when you’ll need it. Don’t delay—subscribe here now.
“OK Jeannie—what do I need to know now to get the most free college money out of the FAFSA financial aid form I’ll be filling out in January of 2025?”
1. Filling out the FAFSA form is FREE, and it’s the first step to getting your kid free money to help pay for college, tech school, or grad school. It’s also the doorway to getting the best possible loan terms if loans are needed at any point.
This is true even if you have a very high income. See my must-read article: 7 Reasons to Fill Out FAFSA Even if You’re Rich.
If you fail to fill out the FAFSA, you may leave thousands of dollars on the table.
2. The FAFSA form collects information about a student’s income and assets, and then uses that information to determine how much that student can probably afford to pay for college, tech school, or grad school.
When the student is (by legal definition) a dependent student, that student’s parental income is considered as well. (Are you wondering whether the student in question qualifies as dependent or independent? See the U.S. Department of Education definition here. Is divorce a part of the family story and you’re wondering who exactly counts as the student’s parent? See my section on divorced families, below.)
Once it’s determined how much a student can probably afford to pay for college—or tech school, or grad school—individual colleges assign grant and loan money that covers about 80% of what the student will need to bridge the gap between what she has and what she needs to cover all of her college, tech school, or grad school costs.
“Yikes!” you’re thinking. “I really don’t want this student taking out loans! And how do students pay all those costs that aren’t covered by loans and grants?”
Don’t worry—I provide lots of help with this, even for students who don’t get a single scholarship. You’ll feel hope on this subject when you watch one free, fast-paced 10-minute video training from me, always in in the big red box right at the top of JeannieBurlowski.com.
3. Fill out the FAFSA as soon as it’s made available in the fall—every year there’s even the tiniest chance you or your child might be in college, tech school, or grad school the following fall.
Do this, and you’ll put yourself first in line to receive all the free college money you have coming.
4. Before you fill out the FAFSA, carefully read the FAFSA strategies starting on page 228 of the book LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt-Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward.
You can buy the book here or ask for it at your local library. (Any librarian will order it for you.)
When you’re reading Chapter 20, skip #4 which is on page 233, and skip #7 which is on page 234.
5. You might want to shift some money around in the few days before you sit down to fill out the FAFSA form.
Remember, on the day you fill out the FAFSA form, any extra cash that you or your college-bound child have sitting around in checking or savings accounts—or brokerage accounts, trust funds, UGMA and UTMA accounts, certificates of deposit, money market funds, stocks, cash stuffed in a mattress, mutual funds, stock options, bonds, or in other securities or commodities will be reported as assets on the FAFSA, and will diminish future financial aid awards.
As financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz says, “The intended use of the money does not matter. Money that is not in a qualified retirement plan is reported as an asset on the FAFSA, even if it is intended for retirement and even if the account owner is already retired.”
Here’s what you can do about that.
You might consider quickly using that extra cash to 1) pay down some debts, 2) pre-pay for needed home improvements, or 3) fatten up retirement savings—since qualified retirement savings plans including 401(k), Roth 401(k), 403(b), traditional or Roth IRA, SEP, SIMPLE, Keogh, profit sharing, pension plans, and certain qualified retirement annuities are not seen or considered by any financial aid application process.
Just be aware of two important things if you’re thinking of shifting some money around before filling out the FAFSA:
First, always preserve an easily accessible pool of money for yourself as an emergency fund just in case (as Dave Ramsey’s daughter Rachel Cruz says), “you crack a tooth on a popcorn kernel, feel the AC go out in the middle of summer, or even lose your job—you won’t worry about how to cover the bills.” Learn how much you’ll need for a healthy emergency fund here.
Second, if you move around any assets at the last minute, do as financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz advises: “…document the change by printing out the asset value from the account’s website. Otherwise, the asset value will be based on the most recent account statement.”
And please remember, do not include the value of the home you live in on the FAFSA form.
6. Understand that under new FAFSA rules, if Grandma or anyone else has given your kid a large financial gift—or if some generous person has opened a 529 college savings plan with your child named as beneficiary—don’t worry, that won’t hurt this financial aid application at all. Just be careful of this one thing.
You don’t want money sitting around visible in your child’s name in any account anywhere on the day you’re filling out FAFSA. Money sitting around visible in your child’s name on the day you fill out FAFSA will diminish future financial aid awards by 20%.
There are two exceptions to this: 1) The money your daughter has in 529 college savings plans where she is named as beneficiary is fairly safe from scrutiny by the process and 2) Any money your child has in official retirement plans such as a 401(k), Roth 401(k), 403(b), traditional or Roth IRA, SEP, SIMPLE, Keogh, profit sharing, pension plans, and qualified retirement annuities is very much safe from scrutiny on the FAFSA, and will not diminish future financial aid awards that are based on FAFSA.*
Because this is true, some students move most of their personal savings into parent- or grandparent-owned 529 plans, or into their own qualified retirement accounts, right before filling out the FAFSA.
* The CSS/Profile financial aid form (required by fewer than 7% of U.S. colleges) does ask families to reveal retirement account balances, but the FAFSA form does not.
7. “Jeannie, why do you say, ‘fairly safe’?” Here’s why. Parents, the money you’ve saved in a 529 college savings plan for this particular child will count as a “parental asset” when you apply for financial aid, and as such it will most likely diminish his future financial aid award by as much as 5.64%. Here’s what you could do about that.
1. You could change the beneficiary name on this child’s 529 college savings plan to the name of an older or younger sibling. Then, when you need the money to pay college costs, change the beneficiary name back. According to financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz (who gave me this idea), this is a safe, legal strategy.
Just make sure that the sibling you choose isn’t going to be applying for financial aid in the near future.
2. Another option is, you could change the account owner name on this 529 college savings plan to that of a trusted grandparent or other relative—with your child named as beneficiary. Accounts owned by that trusted person won’t be visible when your child applies for financial aid. (If someone tells you it’s simply not possible to just change the name of the 529 college savings plan account owner, ask if you can rollover the funds into a brand new 529 college savings plan in the same state—with the same beneficiary—but with a new account owner.)
Please understand that your having saved in a 529 college savings plan was still a good idea. You’ll come out far ahead in the long run having had it.
Also keep in mind—the money in this 529 college savings plan is going to be used up as college goes on. When it no longer appears as a parental asset on FAFSAs filed in October of the freshman, sophomore, or junior years of college, you may get more financial aid money to help pay college bills.
8. Be crystal clear on what the FAFSA means when it asks you for “Current Net Worth of Investments, Including Real Estate.”
The official answer on this—straight from the U.S. Department of Education—is at https://studentaid.gov/2425/help/current-net-worth. This helpful page provides examples, it explains what does not count as an investment, and over on the right you’ll see a place where you can contact someone to ask your individual questions.
9. If a lower household income has qualified your family for SSI, SNAP, or TANF in the past 2 years, report that on the FAFSA when asked. It’ll help you get more free money for college.
If your family receives WIC, Medicaid, free or reduced-price school lunch, or federal housing assistance, that won’t get asked about on the FAFSA. However, you can bring it up when you ask your child’s college financial aid office for a “professional judgment review.” (See #10 below.)
10. Asking the college financial aid office for a “professional judgment review” is the best, surest way to ensure your daughter is getting all the free college money she has coming to her.
The time to do this is in the spring of your daughter’s 12th-grade year.
I provide specific instructions on how to do this on pages 272–273 of the book I wrote: LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt-Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward. (This is one of the most important book segments I’ve written, so be sure you have access to it.)
11. Good news! The new FAFSA asks no questions about drug convictions—and incarcerated students (as well as those on parole or probation) can now apply for and get financial aid using the special instructions here.
So if your kids have made some mistakes in life, there’s still hope for attending college and getting it paid for.
12. The link you’ll need to access the official FAFSA form has changed.
This is shaking up parents who are worried they might accidentally land on a scam FAFSA website. (You can’t blame people for worrying about this—I’ve warned about this a lot!)
Here’s the correct link you’ll need for filling out the 2025–2026 FAFSA: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
13. If you have undocumented family members, please read this additional article before you fill out the FAFSA.
The article you need is here.
14. Tell students this: “When signing up for college classes in the future, be constantly aware of how many credits you’ll need to be a full-time student.”
If your daughter is given financial aid money based on her being a full-time student and she falls below that minimum number of credits, she may suddenly lose her financial aid award and get a scary-looking bill marked DUE NOW.
There is some financial aid available to students who have no choice but to attend college part-time—but your daughter’s most cost-effective strategy will be to consistently be a full-time student and take the maximum number of credits she can each semester. (She can still work part-time as she does this—so no worries about that.)
I cover this in thorough detail in the first class parents take inside my TRIBE Membership.
15. For clear instructions on the logistics of filling out the FAFSA form, check out this clear, helpful article by my friends at Road2College.
16. Are you wondering what happened to some old FAFSA strategies you may have heard about? Here’s a list of the ones that went away when new FAFSA rules came out in 2023.
The financial aid system no longer provides extra aid to families with multiple children in college at the same time. There are no longer protections for families that own small businesses with 100 or fewer full-time employees, or who reside on family farms. It no longer helps to set up your second home as a small business by renting it out part of the time. It’s no longer better for financial aid to have the financial aid applicant child live with her lower-income divorced parent for more than half the year during the 12 months before filling out the FAFSA since new rules say that the parent who provides the most support for the child now counts as the “FAFSA parent” regardless of where the child lives. And, the definition of “family size” has shrunk to include only the family members listed at https://studentaid.gov/2526/help/family-size. (If family size increases after filling out the FAFSA form, students can ask their college financial aid office for a “professional judgment review,” have the family size increased, and possibly receive more financial aid.)
These changes are discouraging, but take heart. I provide many many other strategies for getting college paid for without debt—even if your kid never gets a single scholarship. These strategies are all in my TRIBE Membership, in my email newsletter, and in the book I wrote. Whether your kid is in middle school or high school right now, your first step toward getting my help is to watch one free, fast-paced 10-minute video training based on the age of your child.
17. There’s a lot of outdated FAFSA information floating around on the internet. Here’s how to be sure you’re accessing current, updated FAFSA information.
A) Access official FAFSA information pages labeled “US Department of Education” or “StudentAid.gov.”
B) Get easy-to-understand info from me in my email newsletter.
C) To be sure you’re using only the most updated information, Note that the new FAFSA system no longer uses the term “Estimated Family Contribution” (EFC). The new term is “Student Aid Index” (SAI). The new FAFSA system also no longer uses the term “Student Aid Report” (SAR). The new term is “FAFSA Submission Summary.”
If you encounter people online or in person mentioning “EFC” or “SAR,” they are giving you outdated FAFSA information. Look elsewhere for help.
I’m creating a new, updated 2nd edition of my book, LAUNCH. Until it comes out, keep on using the 1st edition.
Remember, FAFSA details make up just a very small portion of LAUNCH. I’m asking parents and professionals to read, embrace, and use all the non-FAFSA strategies I write about. You’re going to need these more now than ever.
As you read, be sure to check the free bonus book updates page on my website every time you finish reading a chapter. (You’re instructed to do this in every end-of-chapter checklist in the book, so I’m confident you’ll remember.)
The easiest way to do this is to go to JeannieBurlowski.com/LAUNCH and click where it says “To access the free bonus book updates, click here.”
It’s true that some student loan debt has been forgiven—but your kid’s will probably not be.
It’s not sustainable for the U.S. to keep running up massive amounts of national student loan debt—and then forgiving relatively small chunks of it here and there. You as a parent (or a professional) need strategies that’ll keep the kids you love from running up student loan debt in the first place.
Help us spread the word about all of this!
It’s our goal to help as many families as possible. If you appreciate the work I’ve done to gather this information and communicate it to you, put a link to this article into your school, business, or homeschool newsletter. Put a link to it in your Facebook group! Just include the words “By Jeannie Burlowski.”
For clear, step-by-step help getting your kids through college debt-free and into jobs they love afterward, get your copy of my book:
Important—> It’s a reference book, so nobody reads the whole thing cover to cover. Pick out what you need to read in it using the fast-paced, 10-minute video instructions here.
You can see hundreds of reviews of this book on Amazon by going to:
You can see why financial advising professionals love LAUNCH, here.
You can see the top 9 questions parents are asking me about LAUNCH, here.
Read just one chapter of LAUNCH every 1–3 months while your child’s in middle school and high school, and you’ll know every viable strategy for debt-free college at exactly the right time to implement it.
And if your child’s already well past middle school? That’s OK; you can run to catch up. But the process of getting your kids through college debt-free goes more smoothly the earlier you start it—especially if you’re not planning to save up any money to pay for college.
Let's you and I walk together toward the goal of debt-free college for your kids.
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Who is Jeannie Burlowski?
Jeannie is a full-time academic strategist, podcast host, and sought-after speaker for students ages 12–26, their parents, and the professionals who serve them. Her writing, speaking, and podcasting help parents set their kids up to graduate college debt-free, ready to jump directly into careers they excel at and love. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Huffington Post, USA Today, Parents Magazine, and US News & World Report, and on CBS News.
Jeannie also helps students apply to law, medical, business, and grad school at her website GetIntoMedSchool.com. You can follow her on Bluesky @jburlowski.bsky.social.
No part of this article was written using AI.
This article was updated on January 3rd, 2025. This article is for informational purposes only. Nothing herein constitutes tax or investment advice.