Dear FAFSA partners and colleagues,
From the very beginning, the drive to build a Better FAFSA was about one thing: bringing higher education within reach for more students across our nation. We know more students could benefit from more federal financial aid to develop their incredible potential and achieve their dreams.
To do so, the U.S. Department of Education has worked tirelessly to completely overhaul a system that had largely remained untouched for over four decades and itself included twenty different sub-systems that required significant changes – a wholesale transformation to enable the most sweeping changes to federal financial aid eligibility and processes in years. Given the importance of this effort for so many who are considering higher education, we very much understand the deep frustrations many expressed in the initial months after the launch of the 2024-25 FAFSA form, which faced delays and technical difficulties. I know how challenging that was for students, families, high school counselors, community-based organizations supporting students, institutions of higher education and their staffs, and states.
From these partners and families, we heard specific strategies that we could implement to better address these issues – and we have put all hands on deck at the Department to make sure we release the 2025-26 FAFSA in a way that reflects industry-standard best practices around technological transformation and responds to the frank feedback and recommendations of our partners. I am proud of the progress we have made over the last few months.
The purpose of this FAFSA update is to share the depth and details of the efforts undertaken by the Department to better serve our students. We are committed to providing regular updates with our students, families, and partners in order to ensure an improved experience this year.
First, we have worked closely with college counselors, advisors, and other partners from across the nation to help students submit the 2024-25 FAFSA form as part of the Department’s Student Support Strategy. Together, we have made great progress in closing the FAFSA completion gap (now down to about 2% compared to this same time period last year). As of early September, approximately 500,000 more FAFSA applicants are eligible for Pell Grants than were at this time last year.
It also explains the ways the Department has taken action to fix the FAFSA transformation process, including changes to how the Department is holding contractors accountable, and the form itself.
This update then details how we’re addressing some of the most frequently raised areas of concern raised by students, families, institutions, and partners in the field, including in 46 listening sessions with 293 partner organizations. These actions include:
- Providing early and predictable timelines and launching core functions at the same time.
- Ensuring the form functions as intended when launched.
- Increasing transparency.
- Improving resources for students and families to assist them in navigating the form.
- Providing additional resources to counselors, institutions, states, and other critical partners.
- Ensuring the call center has sufficient capacity to handle outreach from and provide accurate information to students and families.
- Improving the user experience for students and families.
- Providing additional outreach and support for students and families who need the most help completing the form.
- Addressing the ongoing issues experienced by mixed status families.
- Helping alleviate the additional burden on institutions.
This update reflects this Department’s unrelenting, laser focus at every step on making the FAFSA form work for more students and families – so they can access the life-changing potential of higher education. As we transform this process, we are leaving no stone unturned to learn lessons, fix problems, and improve processes – responding directly to the needs and concerns raised with the Department by students, families, institutions, and partners.
Over the coming months, we will continue to incorporate feedback as we make additional improvements to the FAFSA form and processes; produce and update resources for families, institutions, counselors, and financial aid professionals; and keep the field updated on our progress.
At the Department, we are firm in our belief that interest and ability should make higher education accessible for students, not whether they are born into wealth. Therefore, we will open new doors of opportunity and bring the American Dream within reach for so many who once saw cost and complexity as an unmoving obstacle. That’s why doing the unprecedented and difficult work of overhauling the FAFSA process matters – and that’s why we will continue fighting to deliver on its full potential for all students.
Sincerely,
Miguel A. Cardona, Ed. D.
U.S. Secretary of Education