The announcement marks a pivotal moment in the continuing FAFSA saga. Throughout the 2024-25 cycle, technical errors and processing delays stymied students, parents, and college officials ...

But making a mistake on the FAFSA or submitting the application late can result in processing delays or limit the amount of loans, grants and other aid awarded to a student, experts say.

The 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is open to all students as of Nov. 18 — and you should submit it as soon as possible if you think you might be in college next year.

As concerns grow over possible federal education shutdowns, many worry that financial aid could be slowed or cut.

Contact them directly. Typical FAFSA processing times Your application should process between three to five days if you submit it online, and it will take seven to 10 days to process if you send ...

“The FAFSA form is live, and the department is actively processing online submissions and sending them to schools so they can get financial aid into the hands of students,” Education Secretary ...

“We know this decision creates additional burdens for institutions that are already experiencing a heavy workload and increased demands during this extraordinary FAFSA processing cycle,” it ...

If the department's duties are reassigned and another government agency takes over FAFSA processing, experts say any changes to the current year's application process likely would be minor. " ...

groups will be keeping a watchful eye after the FAFSA chaos last year that has some colleges still processing the forms. “I will say there definitely is not 100 percent trust from the financial ...

Doing so caused another delay in the processing of FAFSA applications. Financial aid administrators waiting for over three months for student data were told they'd need to wait until mid-March to ...

due to students being unable to access or submit the form and the backlog causing delays in FAFSA processing. In some areas, the figures are even more troubling. At some public high schools ...

The 2025-26 FAFSA opened on Nov. 18 after two months of beta testing. The process is smooth, and students should submit their forms ASAP. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are ...