The 2024-2025 FAFSA rollout cycle was plagued with a long list of obstacles that eventually prevented many families across the U.S. from getting their financial aid packages and sending their kids to school. Now, as the 2025-2026 form is scheduled to be made available in less than a month, users hope the application process is less rocky.
The Department of Education acknowledged in early August it will launch the 2025-26 FAFSA in phases as part of a strategy to fix problems and quickly turn around software upgrades. The form will be made available starting Oct. 1 to a "limited set" of students and colleges, with the goal of being able to identify system errors before the application is rolled out to all students by Dec. 1.
