Navigating the FAFSA Delay: What It Means for Your Award Recipients

On August 7, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the 2025-26 FAFSA form will be available to students about two months later than usual, with a new release date of December 1. This delay is due to a planned testing period, which includes a phased rollout to a select group of students starting in October. This approach aims to identify and address any potential issues before the application becomes available to all students.

The FAFSA process has already experienced setbacks in the past cycle, with delays occurring in February and March 2024. These delays were caused by updates related to inflation calculations and a miscalculation in the student aid index, which required schools to reprocess information.

These disruptions led to a chain reaction, including delays in completing forms, issuing federal student aid reports, creating financial aid packages by colleges, and making decisions among many students about where or whether to attend college for the 2024-2025 academic year. Some admissions experts are concerned that these delays could result in lower enrollment numbers as students return this fall.

For students, this delay primarily affects the timing of award notifications and does not impact the actual amount of aid they will receive. However, the delayed notification can create uncertainty about the loans they may need, scholarships they should apply for, and the overall financial aid required to attend their chosen institution.

Given the recent unreliability of FAFSA timelines over the last few cycles, we may see a trend where students increasingly turn to private scholarships instead of relying solely on government aid.

As a scholarship or grant provider, it’s important to be transparent with your applicants about your decision timeline and keep them informed about any delays in disbursements that may result from FAFSA processing issues. If you handle disbursements yourself, you may want to consider partnering with an organization that has an ACH database for stress-free and timely transactions to the schools of your award recipients.