Three deadlines in September 2026 directly affect your student loan costs and financial aid. The 2025-26 FAFSA correction window closes September 12. The deadline to enroll in autopay for a temporary 1% federal interest rate cut is September 30. And high school seniors should start preparing now for the 2027-28 FAFSA, which opens October 1. Here's exactly what each deadline means and what to do before it passes.

September is the quiet month in the college financial aid calendar. No big decisions, no acceptance letters, no scholarship applications due. That makes it easy to overlook three deadlines that could cost you money — or save you some.

Here they are in order of urgency.

Deadline 1: FAFSA 2025-26 Corrections Close September 12

If you filed the 2025-26 FAFSA and anything has changed — or if you noticed an error — you have until 11:59 p.m. CT on September 12, 2026 to submit corrections. After that date, the 2025-26 processing cycle closes permanently.1

This deadline applies to:

  • Changes in income or family size that occurred during the 2025-26 award year
  • Students who received summer 2026 financial aid on the 2025-26 form
  • Anyone who had verification issues that weren't fully resolved
  • Address changes or institution updates still in the system

A FAFSA correction can move your aid in any direction. It can increase a grant, reduce one, or trigger a review that affects disbursement timing. If your financial situation changed materially — job loss, a death in the family, a significant medical expense — a correction is almost always worth filing before the window closes.

A correction submitted on September 12 will take 1-3 business days to process, then needs review by your college's financial aid office. If your school has a packaging or disbursement deadline before late September, submit your correction well ahead of September 12 — not on it.

If your situation hasn't changed and you're satisfied with your current package, no action is needed. But if you're unsure whether a correction would help, contact your college's financial aid office now — they can tell you whether a special circumstances adjustment makes sense.

For the full FAFSA walkthrough, see our step-by-step FAFSA guide. If your financial situation changed significantly, our FAFSA special circumstances appeal guide covers how to request a professional judgment review from your school.

Deadline 2: Autopay Enrollment for the 1% Rate Cut — September 30

In June 2026, the U.S. Department of Education announced a temporary interest rate reduction for federal student loan borrowers enrolled in autopay.2 The discount is 1% — a full percentage point off your rate, compared to the standard 0.25% autopay discount that has been the norm for years.

Key details:

  • Effective date: July 1, 2026
  • Enrollment deadline: September 30, 2026
  • Benefit period: Through June 30, 2028
  • Eligible loans: All Direct Loans issued after July 1, 2012, including Parent PLUS Loans
  • Not eligible: Older Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) and private student loans

If you're already enrolled in autopay, the reduction applies automatically — no action needed. If you're not enrolled, log in to your federal loan servicer's website (Aidvantage, Mohela, Nelnet, Edfinancial, or ECSI) and set up automatic payments before September 30. The enrollment process typically takes under 10 minutes.

To put the math in plain terms: on a $35,000 loan balance at 6.5% interest, switching from a 0.25% to a 1% autopay discount saves roughly $263 per year. Over the 24-month benefit period through June 2028, that's more than $525 in interest you don't pay.

Parent PLUS borrowers are also eligible — see our Parent PLUS loan guide for repayment context. Note that Graduate PLUS Loans issued before July 1, 2026 also qualify as Direct Loans.

We covered this discount in full when the Department of Education announced it. Read the complete breakdown here. The main update now: you have 28 days left to enroll.

If you're trying to decide which repayment plan to pair with autopay, the income-driven repayment guide covers the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) that launched July 1, 2026 as the primary income-driven option for new borrowers.

Coming October 1: The 2027-28 FAFSA Opens

If you're a high school senior, nothing is due in September — but October 1 is four weeks out.

The 2027-28 FAFSA opens to the public on October 1, 2026, covering students who will enroll in fall 2027. The Department of Education says the form is on track for an on-time launch — the 2026-27 form opened September 24, 2025, the earliest in the program's history.3

Filing FAFSA on or close to October 1 is one of the highest-ROI moves a high school senior can make. Many states and colleges distribute aid on a first-come, first-served basis — early filers get access to the full pool before it's depleted.

The FAFSA October 1 preparation checklist walks through exactly what to have ready before the form opens. For the full picture of what 2027-28 brings, the 2027-28 FAFSA open date guide covers the key changes from last cycle.

Your September Action List

By September 12:

  • Log in to StudentAid.gov, review your 2025-26 FAFSA submission
  • If anything changed — income, family size, school list — submit a correction now
  • If your financial situation changed dramatically, call your financial aid office about special circumstances

By September 30:

  • Log in to your federal loan servicer account
  • Check whether autopay is currently active
  • If not, set it up — 28 days left to capture the 1% rate reduction

Before October 1 (high school seniors):

  • Locate your FSA ID and a parent's FSA ID
  • Pull together your 2024 tax documents
  • Have your college list ready — you'll add school codes directly when the form opens

For the full context on how federal student loans work — types, rates, repayment plans — the federal vs. private student loan guide is the right starting point.

Footnotes

  1. Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education. (2026). 2025-26 FAFSA Correction and Update Deadline. StudentAid.gov. https://studentaid.gov ↩

  2. U.S. Department of Education. (2026, June). U.S. Department of Education Announces Student Loan Interest Rate Reduction. ed.gov. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-student-loan-interest-rate-reduction ↩

  3. NASFAA. (2026). ED Officially Launches 2026-27 FAFSA Ahead of October 1 Deadline. National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. https://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/37319/ED_Officially_Launches_2026-27_FAFSA_Ahead_of_October_1_Launch ↩