Next FAFSA Go Live in October – Not for Everyone Yet

According to the United States Department of Education on Wednesday, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for next year will not be fully available until early December.

Students seeking financial assistance for college will have to wait until then.

The form that millions of kids and families use each year will update for the 2025-26 school year.

Although the FAFSA application generally opens to students on October 1, a congressionally required reform of the student financial aid system last year caused a series of issues.

These problems pushed officials behind schedule for the second year in a row.

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Officials stated that the FAFSA will available for a “limited set of students and institutions” on October 1. They said they want to test it for mistakes before gradually making it available to all students “on or before” December 1.

The Education Department should have immediately specified which categories of kids would be eligible to fill out the FAFSA form in early October.

Still, the government stated that the group would be varied, and further details would be given in the following weeks.

Miguel Cardona, the education secretary, said earlier this year that the department had expected to fulfill the regular October 1 deadline for persons requesting help for the fiscal year 2025-26.

In a statement released Wednesday, he explained that delaying the timeframe will improve next year’s financial aid process compared to this year’s launch, which he acknowledged had negatively impacted some students.

The spokesperson said, “After a tough 2024-25 FAFSA cycle, the Department carefully considered feedback from students, families, and higher education institutions.

They made significant changes to leadership and actions at Federal Student Aid gov and are adopting an innovative approach this year to greatly enhance the FAFSA experience.”

The deferral comes as Democrats and advocacy organizations encouraged the Education Department in the past few weeks to prioritize accuracy over speed while developing the revised form.

Bill DeBaun, who collects data for the National College Attainment Network, said in a conversation that rushing to release another application before it is ready will only harm kids.

He told me, “The main goal is to ensure the FAFSA works properly and that students receive the aid they need.”

On Wednesday, congressional Republicans criticized the decision to delay a complete launch until December 1. Sen.

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Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana who belongs to a committee that oversees education policy, described it as “completely unacceptable.”

Students who still want financial aid for the FAFSA 2024-25 academic year can apply using the most recent version of the FAFSA, which will be available until June 2025.