Applying for college financial aid was never easy. But the botched rollout of the federal financial aid form last year added to the headaches. And nowps88, the Education Department has announced that the form for the 2025-26 school year will be delayed by two months.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, is expected to be ready by Dec. 1. The department has said the delay will allow officials to test the latest version of the online form to avoid the myriad problems that plagued the FAFSA for the current academic year.
What can students and their parents do in the meantime? One college aid expert suggested preparing a list of prospective colleges to include on the form and researching scholarships, among other steps. That way, they can be ready when the form is finally available.
The FAFSA is the gateway to federal grants and loans for college, as well as for aid and scholarships from states and individual institutions. Millions of students submit the form annually.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTA “simplified” version, which included changes to the underlying financial aid formula, was released almost three months later than usual last year. But the form still suffered repeated glitches, calculation errors and delays, making it difficult both for applicants to submit the form and for colleges to package financial aid offers for students.
The debacle particularly affected students from lower-income households who depend on financial help, including federal grants and loans, to attend college. Even after efforts to fix the problems, the number of high school students in the graduating class of 2024 who completed the form by late August was down about 9 percent from the prior academic year, according to the National College Attainment Network, a nonprofit group that works on behalf of low-income and minority students.
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