When Do I Submit My 2025-26 FAFSA?
Prospective Domestic Students
| Decision Round | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Early Decision I (ED I) | 4/21/2025 |
| Early Decision II (ED II) | 1/15/2025 |
| Regular Decision | 1/15/2025 |
Financial aid offers are provided at the same time as admission decisions. Colgate meets full financial need for all admitted students, including Early Decision applicants.
Current Domestic Students
The priority deadline for returning students to apply for financial aid is January 31, 2025. Students must submit both the 2025-26 FAFSA and CSS Profile to apply for aid.
Submitting the FAFSA
Before you start:
- If you are considered a dependent student for federal aid purposes, you will need to provide information about your legal parent(s) on the FAFSA. If your parents are divorced, separated, or never married, and don’t live together, the parent who provided more financial support during the last 12 months is the contributor and must provide their information on the FAFSA.
- Dependent students and their parent contributor(s) will each need their own StudentAid.gov accounts to access the FAFSA and complete their required sections. If you already have a StudentAid.gov account, log in using that (don’t create a new one).
- Read more about Reporting Parent Information on the StudentAid.gov website.
Logging in to the FAFSA:
- Go to studentaid.gov and and log-in to start the 2025-26 FAFSA.
- Two-step verification is required either by using an authenticator app or a code sent via text or email.
Completing the FAFSA:
- Every contributor on the FAFSA must provide consent and approval for a student to be eligible for federal aid. Providing consent allows a contributor's federal tax information to be transferred directly into your FAFSA from the IRS via the “Direct Data Exchange”.
After you submit the FAFSA:
- After you submit your 2025–26 FAFSA, you’ll receive a confirmation email from the Department of Education with preliminary information related to your eligibility for federal student aid. After your FAFSA is processed, you’ll receive your FAFSA Submission Summary. The schools you listed on your FAFSA will be notified as well.