Class of 2027, Senior Year Checkpoints: What Families Need to Know This Fall

Aug 18

6 min read

By Elizabeth Burgon, PEAK Educational Consulting

Welcome to senior year. As the fall admissions season gets underway, here is a roundup of the key dates, deadlines, and reminders every family should have on hand this month, from application types and Florida deadlines to the financial aid calendar.

A Well-Earned Congratulations

Many students spent precious summer hours drafting personal statements, researching schools, and wrestling early versions of their essays into shape instead of simply enjoying their break. That work does not go unnoticed. Students are now in the polishing and refining stage: tightening the Common App essay and turning attention to school-specific questions and supplemental essay prompts. This is steady, deliberate progress, and it puts students in a strong position heading into fall deadlines.

Reviewing College Lists: Class of 2027

I am currently reviewing college lists individually with each student to confirm that the list is well balanced across likelihood of admission and genuine fit. Students can access their current list at any time through their PEAK planner, where it is kept up to date as adjustments are made. Families are encouraged to review the list together with their student and to reach out with any questions about a particular school or the balance of the list as a whole.

Understanding Application Types

As students finalize their college lists, it is worth making sure everyone in the family is on the same page about how each school's application plan works, since the plan can affect both admissions strategy and financial aid timing.

Plan	Binding?	What It Means
Early Decision (ED)	Yes	If admitted, the student commits to attend and withdraws other applications. Typically due in November, with decisions in December.
Early Action (EA)	No	The student applies early and receives an early decision, with no obligation to attend. Typically due in November, with decisions by January.
Restrictive / Single-Choice EA	No	Limits the student from applying EA or ED to other private schools at the same time. Rules vary by school.
Regular Decision (RD)	No	The standard timeline. Typically due in January, with decisions in March or April.
Rolling Admission	No	There is no fixed deadline; applications are reviewed as they arrive. Applying earlier generally helps.

Each plan carries its own deadline and, in some cases, its own financial aid implications. An ED commitment, for example, means less room to compare aid offers across schools. This is a good conversation to have as a family before finalizing the list.

UF and FSU: Key Application Deadlines

For Florida's two flagship public universities, this cycle brings meaningful change: both UF and FSU have introduced a binding Early Decision option for the first time, alongside their existing plans. It is essential that families understand which deadline applies to each plan before submitting an application.

School	Plan	Deadline	Decision Released
UF	Early Decision (binding)	October 15, 2026	December 11, 2026
UF	Early Action	November 1, 2026	January 22, 2027
UF	Regular Decision	January 15, 2027	March 19, 2027
FSU	Early Decision (binding)	October 15, 2026	December 17, 2026
FSU	Early Action (FL residents)	October 15, 2026	December 17, 2026
FSU	Regular Decision	December 1, 2026	Mid-February 2027

Both universities now offer Early Decision as a binding option, meaning an admitted student must commit to enroll and withdraw all other applications. Families should discuss this commitment carefully before choosing this plan, since it forecloses the ability to compare financial aid offers from other schools. Deadlines and requirements are always subject to change, so please confirm current dates on each university's admissions website before submitting.

Work Closely with the School Counselor

It is essential that students work closely with their high school counselor throughout this process. Counselors are a critical partner in the application journey, and their office manages several pieces of the puzzle that a family or consultant simply cannot submit on the student's behalf.

Students and families should work with high school counselors throughout this process. I emphasize this directly with students, and I ask that you reinforce it at home by encouraging your student to schedule time with their counselor soon. Every high school has its own process and timeline for submitting materials to colleges, and understanding that process early prevents last-minute surprises.

School Counselors typically handle:

Submitting the official high school transcript to each college
Writing and submitting the counselor letter of recommendation
Completing the School Report form required by many colleges
Reporting school profile information (course rigor, grading scale, class rank)
Coordinating mid-year and final transcript updates
Verifying and submitting materials through the school's platform (Naviance, SCOIR, or similar)
Confirming deadlines specific to the school's process

Every school handles this a little differently, and some have earlier internal deadlines than the colleges themselves. Meeting with the counselor now, before things get busy, gives the student a clear runway and ensures nothing falls through the cracks.

Florida Families: Bright Futures

Bright Futures is a separate but important piece of the puzzle. It is a state, lottery-funded merit scholarship, not need-based aid, so it is not tied to the FAFSA or CSS Profile, and it is worth applying for regardless of your family's financial aid plans.

Students apply by submitting the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) through the Office of Student Financial Assistance. For the Class of 2027, the FFAA window opens October 1, 2026, and the deadline to submit is August 31, 2027. There is no need to rush: the window stays open across the entire senior year, and students should feel free to complete it at a comfortable pace, even before final test scores or service hours are in.

Florida Academic Scholars (FAS): 100% of tuition and fees at a Florida public university Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS): 75% of tuition and fees at a Florida public university

Each tier has its own GPA, standardized test score, and community service or work hour thresholds, and those numbers can shift slightly from year to year, so families should check current figures on the OSFA website. All eligibility requirements must be met by high school graduation, though test scores from exams taken through August 31 are still accepted for evaluation. I am glad to help students check where they stand as senior year progresses.

Financial Aid Dates to Add to the Calendar

Both major financial aid applications for the 2027-28 academic year are on track to open October 1, 2026:

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid): Planned to open October 1, 2026. Required for federal aid, and most state and institutional aid as well. File at studentaid.gov.
CSS Profile: Also planned to open October 1, 2026. Required by many private colleges in addition to the FAFSA, for institutional need-based aid. Check each college's financial aid page to confirm. File at cssprofile.collegeboard.org.

A note on that date: October 1 is the Department of Education's stated target, and recent cycles are trending in the right direction (last year's FAFSA opened a week early). This has not always held, however: the 2024-25 FAFSA launched months late due to a major system overhaul, and the two cycles that followed had their own rocky patches. Families should watch for the official announcement rather than assuming October 1 is locked in.

What to Have on Hand Before You File

Both forms go faster if you gather the basics ahead of time. Note that the FAFSA uses 2025 tax data for the 2027-28 cycle, since the form relies on prior-prior year income.

For the FAFSA:

Student's Social Security number (and parent SSN, if applicable)
2025 federal tax returns, W-2s, and records of untaxed income
Records of current savings, investments, and untaxed assets
List of colleges the student is applying to
FSA IDs for both student and one parent

For the CSS Profile:

Same 2025 tax and income documentation as above
Home equity and other real estate information
Business or farm ownership information, if applicable
Information for both parents, even if divorced or remarried

Reasonable estimates are fine to get started on either form. Most schools allow you to correct figures once final tax documents are filed.

Important: Let your student know whether your family plans to apply for financial aid before they submit the Common App. There is a question on the application asking whether the student intends to apply for financial aid, and that answer should reflect your family's plan. A quick conversation now avoids a scramble later.

Net Price Calculators: An Early Estimate Worth Running

Every college participating in federal financial aid must post a Net Price Calculator (NPC) on its website. This is a free tool that estimates what a specific school will actually cost after grants and scholarships, rather than the sticker price.

To find a school's calculator, search "[college name] net price calculator," or use the Department of Education's College Navigator tool and check the "Net Price" section. Run it for every school on the list, using your most recent tax return for the figures, and treat the result as an estimate rather than a guarantee.

Next Steps

As students finalize supplemental essays and continue refining their materials, PEAK is here to review drafts, talk through school-specific questions, and help keep the process organized as deadlines approach.

Wishing every family a strong and steady start to senior year.