As students, parents, and colleges anticipate the upcoming financial aid season, many hope not to repeat the same FAFSA season as last year.  It was full of missed deadlines and incorrect information.  This summer, the Department of Education (DOE) stated that the FAFSA will miss the normal October 1 deadline and have a soft launch.  Sound familiar?  Here are the key dates of the FAFSA Launch Timetable for 2024.

The good news is that it appears to be different and there seems to be a formal plan.  The soft launch is not a free fall but a controlled launch with selected organizations.  The formal FAFSA 2025-26 launch date is planned for December 1 assuming these beta test groups are successful.  The list below displays the details for the FAFSA launch.

What is Different From the 2024-25 FAFSA Launch

There seems to be more transparency and a plan. Maybe the biggest difference is that both the FAFSA contributors and the colleges will be involved in the testing. This process was not the case during last year’s testing. The initial rollout of the FAFSA Simplification was phased, and students and parents completed their FAFSA, but the colleges were not getting the data.

For the 2025-26 FAFSA process, both groups will be involved in the testing.  This process will better identify issues for both the participants and the colleges.  The Department of Education (DOE) will ask the Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), high schools, and colleges to volunteer as Beta testers.  These organizations will need to apply to the DOE.  Currently, they are accepting applications for Beta groups 2, 3, and 4.  The Beta test group 1 has already been selected.

Selection of FAFSA Test Groups

In a recent announcement, the DOE explained the planned timing and commitment of the testing process.  This rollout will depend on the results of each beta test group and the number of changes required.  This is the current requirement to be a beta group.

FAFSA Beta Criteria for CBO and high schools

• Recruit students and their contributors to fill out and submit the FAFSA 2025-26 forms
• Ability to get an FSA ID and Password for each contributor
• Able to log in and access FAFSA via the Studentaid.gov website
• Each beta group will be assigned a specific 4-day window of dates and each participant must commit to one of these days for an in-person FAFSA completion submission
• Be able to provide feedback on the process to Federal Student Aid (FSA)
• Preferred CBOs and high schools will have 100 students to participate (Some exceptions may be available)
  • Diverse population of students
  • College list for the student will be a broad list of colleges

FAFSA Beta Criteria for Institutions (Colleges)

• The minimum is higher for this group based on the beta group with most of the same requirements as stated above
  • Beta test group 2 – 200 students and their contributors
  • Beta test groups 3 and 4 – 500 students and their contributors
• Financial aid staff must be available for data (ISIR) being received from submissions.
• Test and review data received under FSA guidelines
• Test ISIR date with school internal systems
• Provide Feedback to FSA on the receiving and testing of ISIR data process.

FAFSA 2024 Timing of Beta Testing

The timing of this may require some flexibility as the different issues encountered by each group will need to be fixed for the best outcome.  It is unclear how the participants will be able to commit due to the unclear timing commitment.  It is recommended that Beta test groups submit their application ASAP or by September 20.

FSA will notify the Beta Test 2 group by September 24.  The other groups will be notified soon after.

Planned testing periods are

As you can see the testing periods become shorter as they get closer to the December 1 launch.  This is in anticipation they will have fewer problems to fix.  We can only hope!

State Agency Involvement with Beta Test

At this time state agencies will be able to get access to the FAFSA data called ISIRs.  This is not part of the formal beta testing but will be available to some states.  This is a big step forward from last year since the prior link to FAFSA was not available to the State Grant programs as they were in the past.

Contributors Can Establish Your FSA ID Now

Under the FAFSA simplification rules, all contributors must have an FSA ID to participate in submitting a FAFSA.  With the mandatory link to the IRS data, your tax filing decision will determine who will need an FSA ID based on the tax filing year.  For the 2025-26 FAFSA, the tax information will be 2023 tax return data.

This will be critical for dependent students to know, as the student needs to initiate the FAFSA process.  If the parents have filed their taxes as married and separate, then both parents will need an FSA ID.  For parents who have filed married and joint, only one parent will need an FSA ID since both parents’ information is linked to one tax return.  It is recommended that you establish your FSA before the FAFSA submission process.

FAFSA Launch Timetable for 2024 Summary

A better plan is in place for this year’s FAFSA Application process.  At least this year, there is more transparency.  With both sides involved in the testing process, more information will be available externally than last year.  This will also improve levels of expectation for all parties who are dependent on the process.

We believe families should complete the FAFSA as part of the college selection process.  For families who qualify for need-based financial aid, it is mandatory.  For families who may not qualify, completing the FAFSA shows the colleges you can pay, which may help in admission.  It also improves the debt structure, if graduate school is in the plan.

For families needing professional financial advice, PayForED has a list of advisors trained in this area. Please review our Find an Advisor page for guidance.  If you need additional help, PayForED also has college-cost software that navigates this process by providing financial aid positioning, academic positioning, and overall debt structure.

This week, we kick off your Virtual Financial Aid Series.  Get the information you need to know to make an informed decision.