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HOW TO GET STARTED Once you fill out the FAFSA, you will receive a package of loans and grants. One key difference compared to younger students: Anyone over the age of 24 is considered

“independent,” which means there is no parental informational required. You can fill out the FAFSA even in your current school year. So if you are already enrolled and taking courses in the

2020-2021 school year, you can still file all the way through June 30, 2021. Similarly, if you are looking at the fall and the 2021-2022 school year, the deadline is June 30, 2022. The form

then has to be filled out every year. That being said, early application is always the better strategy, because some pots of student money will run out. For example, Alaska, Illinois,

Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont and Washington all award state aid on first-come, first-served basis until the

money is depleted.  If you're unhappy with the aid numbers you receive, you can always appeal. Since income information is based on prior years, an appeal could succeed if there have

been recent changes to your financial status — a layoff because of the pandemic, for instance. You may have read about some changes to FAFSA formulas, such as the replacement of the Expected

Family Contribution. But those shouldn't alter your near-term thinking, as any changes won't be coming online until 2023-2024. For mature students, there are a few things to keep

in mind. Federal Pell Grants are only for the first bachelor's degree — so if you already have a sheepskin and are pursuing a second bachelor's, you would not be eligible for Pell

Grants specifically. For that reason, “they might want to consider going to graduate school instead of getting a second undergraduate degree,” Kantrowitz says. On the subject of loans,

limits are slightly different for older students: Independent undergrads have limits of $9,500 for the first year, and $57,500 overall; graduate students have $20,500 limits for the first

year, and $138,500 overall.