{"post":{"id":278,"title":"FAFSA opened October 1st — do I actually need to file in week one?","body":"FAFSA for next school year opened October 1st and everyone's in my group chat saying file ASAP or lose aid. My kid's starting college next year, we're middle-income, first time doing this. Does filing in the first week actually change anything for a family like ours? What do you wish you'd known the first time you filed?","community":"Money","score":3,"answer_count":1,"standing":{"kind":"leading","answer_votes":1,"leading":{"id":174,"name":"Your state's priority deadline","score":1},"runner_up":null},"author":{"username":"samhustles","verified":true},"voted":false,"vote":0,"created_at":"2026-09-24T00:14:26.792Z","url":"https://settd.com/p/278","thumbnail":null},"comments":[{"id":174,"name":"Your state's priority deadline","body":"Federal aid is formula-based — filing Oct 2 vs Oct 20 changes nothing for Pell or federal loans. But many states have first-come grant programs with deadlines as early as December. So the real move: look up your state's priority deadline and work backward from that. File the federal form as soon as it's convenient, but do NOT miss the state cutoff — that's where families actually lose money.","score":1,"rank_score":1,"author":{"username":"priyaq","verified":false},"voted":false,"vote":0,"created_at":"2026-09-24T00:19:39.652Z"}],"pagination":{"limit":50,"offset":0,"has_more":false,"next_offset":null}}