How to File the 2027-28 FAFSA Before You Take a Private Student Loan

The 2027-28 FAFSA is open. Federal Student Aid made the form available to everyone on September 23, 2026, about a week ahead of the October 1 date set by Congress. It covers college costs from July 1, 2027 through June 30, 2028, and it uses 2025 tax information.

If you have a high school senior, or a college student heading into next year, this is the form that opens the door to Pell Grants, federal student loans, work-study, most state grants, and many college scholarships. It is also the step that should come before any private student loan. A private lender can approve you without it, but you could end up borrowing money you did not need, at a higher rate, with fewer protections.

This year matters more than usual for parents who planned to rely on Parent PLUS loans. New federal caps took effect July 1, 2026, so many families will reach the limit on federal borrowing sooner. That makes it important to know exactly how big your gap is before you shop for a private loan.

This guide is by the ParentRankings Editorial Team. Ranked by parents. For parents. We may be paid by companies we feature. This may influence rankings. When you are ready to compare lenders, our Best Private Student Loan Lenders page has the full shortlist.

What this guide covers

Our student loan lenders page ranks private lenders. This post is about the order to do things in:

1. File the 2027-28 FAFSA early.
2. Set up accounts for everyone who has to sign.
3. Know what changed on this year's form.
4. Read your results and your aid offers.
5. Use federal loans first, and know the new Parent PLUS limits.
6. Size the real gap, then compare private lenders.

The five lender cards further down come from our existing shortlist. They are there so you know what to look at once you reach the last step. They are not a new ranking.

Step-by-step: filing and borrowing in the right order

1. File the FAFSA now, not in the spring

The federal deadline for the 2027-28 FAFSA is June 30, 2028 at 11:59 p.m. Central time, and corrections are due by September 12, 2028. That sounds like plenty of time, but it is not the deadline that matters for most families.

States and colleges set their own deadlines, and many are much earlier. Some state grant programs and school aid budgets are first come, first served, so a family that files in October can get money that a family filing in March does not. Look up your state deadline and the priority date for every school on your student's list, then aim to beat the earliest one.

If your student already submitted the form during the beta test in August or September, that submission counts. You do not need to file again.

2. Set up accounts for everyone who has to sign

The student needs a StudentAid.gov account. So does each contributor. A contributor is anyone the form asks to provide information, usually one or both parents for a dependent student, or a spouse for a married student. Each person creates their own account with their own email and password. Do not create an account for someone else.

Every contributor also has to give consent for the IRS to share their federal tax information with the Department of Education. If a required contributor does not give consent, the student will not be eligible for federal aid. Build in a few extra days if a parent is hard to reach or lives in another household.

3. Know what is new on the 2027-28 form

Federal Student Aid describes this year's changes as small, but a few of them help families:

• Text message invites. The student can now invite a parent or spouse to their section by text, not just email.
• Plainer wording. Several questions were rewritten, including the ones on high school completion, state of residence, federal benefits, and tax filing status.
• Clearer asset questions. The form now spells out what counts for checking, savings, and cash.
• Instant results. Since summer 2026, most filers see their Student Aid Index and Pell Grant eligibility right after they submit, and can make corrections right away.
• Prefill for returning students. The Department says a renewal version that fills in information from last year's form is coming later this fall.

You can list up to 20 schools, including schools your student has not applied to or been accepted by yet. Add every school that is realistically on the list.

4. Read your Student Aid Index and Pell results

The Student Aid Index, or SAI, is the number colleges use to work out need-based aid. A lower SAI means more need. Your FAFSA Submission Summary shows the SAI and whether your student looks eligible for a Pell Grant.

There is one Pell change to know about. Starting with the 2026-27 aid year, a student whose SAI is at least twice the maximum Pell Grant generally cannot receive a Pell Grant, with a narrow exception in the law. On the other side, Workforce Pell started July 1, 2026, so some short, career-focused training programs now qualify for Pell.

Check the summary for errors before you move on. A wrong count of family members in college or a missed asset can change the SAI.

5. Compare aid offers, then use federal loans first

Each college sends its own aid offer. Compare them on net price, which is the cost of attendance minus grants and scholarships. Loans in an offer are not a discount.

When there is still a gap, federal loans in the student's name come first. For a dependent undergraduate, Direct Loan limits are $5,500 in the first year, $6,500 in the second, and $7,500 in the third year and beyond, with a $31,000 total. These loans do not need a credit check or a cosigner, and they come with income-driven repayment and federal deferment options that private loans do not offer.

6. Plan around the new Parent PLUS caps

This is the big change for 2027-28 budgets. For loans made on or after July 1, 2026, Parent PLUS borrowing is capped at $20,000 per year and $65,000 total for each dependent student. The cap is per student, not per parent, so two parents cannot each borrow $20,000 for the same child in the same year. The $65,000 total also counts Parent PLUS loans already borrowed for that student, including at other schools.

There is a limited exception for students who were already enrolled in a program and borrowing before July 1, 2026. Parents of those students may still borrow up to the cost of attendance minus other aid for a limited time. Your school's financial aid office can tell you whether your family qualifies.

7. Size the gap before you shop

Write down four numbers for the school your student picks:

1. Cost of attendance for 2027-28
2. Grants and scholarships
3. Federal Direct Loans in the student's name
4. Parent PLUS you are willing to take, within the new cap

What is left is the amount a private loan might need to cover. Borrow that amount, not the full cost of attendance a lender may approve.

What to look for in a private student loan

Once federal aid is used up, these are the things that separate one private lender from another. They match how we score lenders on our student loan lenders page.

• APR range and fixed versus variable: Compare your actual prequalified rate, not the lowest advertised rate. A fixed rate stays the same for the life of the loan. A variable rate can go up.
• Repayment flexibility and hardship options: Look for forbearance or payment pause options if your student loses a job, and for choices about paying during school.
• Cosigner release: Most undergraduates need a cosigner. Find out how many on-time payments it takes before the parent can come off the loan, and what credit check is involved.
• Fees and borrower benefits: Many lenders charge no origination or prepayment fees. Some add autopay discounts or other perks.
• Application experience: A soft credit check prequalification lets you compare rates without hurting your score. Some lenders also offer approval for more than one year at a time.

Private loans do not come with federal income-driven repayment or federal forgiveness programs. That is the main reason they belong at the end of the list.

We do not invent experts, financial advisors, or parent testimonials. Scores on the cards below come from the methodology on our student loan lenders page. Rates and terms change often, so confirm current terms with each lender before you apply.

Which lender fits your family

After the FAFSA, aid offers, federal loans, and Parent PLUS, here is how the lenders on our shortlist line up for different families. These notes come from the details on our category page.

You want the most control over the repayment term. Earnest offers terms from 5 to 20 years and lets borrowers skip one payment a year. Our listing notes it does not offer cosigner release, so the cosigner should expect to stay on the loan.

You want protection if your graduate loses a job. SoFi pauses payments for borrowers who lose their job, charges no origination, prepayment, or late fees, and allows cosigner release after 24 months of payments.

You want to compare rates quickly before committing. College Ave offers prequalification with no impact on your credit score and four in-school repayment choices.

You want to apply once for several years. Sallie Mae offers multi-year approval, so your student does not have to requalify every fall, and cosigner release after 12 on-time payments.

Your student has no cosigner. Ascent offers outcomes-based loans for juniors and seniors that do not require a cosigner. Expect higher rates without one.

Whichever lender you look at, prequalify with two or three, compare the same loan amount and term, and pick the one with the lowest total cost and the protections your family cares about.

Before you sign anything

Save your FAFSA Submission Summary, each school's aid offer, and your notes on the gap. Ask each financial aid office whether your family qualifies for the Parent PLUS exception, and whether the school will review your aid if your income has changed since 2025. Then put the FAFSA on your calendar as a yearly task. The 2028-29 form will ask for 2026 tax information, and your student has to file again every year they want aid.

When you are ready to compare lenders side by side, See all 5 Best Private Student Loan Lenders ranked →.