As the spring semester begins, college decisions have begun to roll out and a major factor in most seniors’ choice of university is cost. However there are only a few days left until Sunday’s priority deadline for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application for Texas students. 

“All universities have a limited amount of funds, so as the time progresses there’s going to be less money available to students,” counselor Amanda Zambiasi said. “So the sooner they can get their FAFSA in, the more likely they are to get the most amount of money for their university or scholarship.”

Many students who have already obtained acceptance to their school of choice have decided to apply before this deadline.

“I chose to apply priority just because I already did all my college applications early action, so I just decided that doing FAFSA right away would be best,” senior Emma Hale said. “I’m hoping to get some help with going out of state for college since it’s already so expensive.” 

For each deadline: priority, state, and federal, there may be limited funds available, which can add to the appeal of applying earlier to receive as much aid as possible. 

“I wanted to see the financial situation I would be in for college and I wanted to see the options for the colleges I was considering,” senior Kritika Ramesh said. “The whole form is quite long so I wanted to start on the whole lengthy process early.”

All FAFSA applications will be accepted until April 1, 2023 for financial aid consideration. 

“I wanted to do my FAFSA early on with my parents to get it done and make sure we were on the same page,” Ramesh said.