U.S. Department of Education Announces Successful First Beta Test for 2025-26 FAFSA

Last updated: 2024/10/17 at 2:45 PM

This article was originally published in EducationNC.

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced on Tuesday, Oct. 15, the launch of the second stage of testing (Beta 2) for the 2025–26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) — which is set to launch for all students and families by Dec. 1.

The announcement follows two weeks of the first round of testing (Beta 1), during which “the Department did not uncover any critical bugs,” according to a press release.

During Beta 1, which started Oct. 1, more than 650 students successfully submitted applications, the DOE said, and dozens of student corrections were successfully completed. Nearly 600 higher education institutions also received 6,266 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) generated by those applications.

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

FAFSA Executive Advisor Jeremy Singer said the department’s original goal was to submit and process forms for 100 students during Beta 1.

“Instead, we had more than six times that number of students and we were able to see the forms move from submission to processing — and even corrections — without any major issues,” Singer said. “We learned a tremendous amount from being able to observe students, families, and community-based organizations interacting with the FAFSA form in real time, and we are on track for a full launch on or before Dec. 1.”

Beta 2 launched on Tuesday, DOE officials said during a press briefing call. This second round of testing includes 16 organizations that will work together to recruit thousands of students from diverse income, geographic, family, and educational backgrounds, the department said.

Beta 2 will also include returning students for the first time during the testing period. Ahead of the Dec. 1 launch for all students, DOE officials said there will also be a third and fourth round of testing. Beta 3 is expected to launch in early November.

The beta testing for the 2025-26 FAFSA follows the rocky launch of the “Better FAFSA” earlier this year, which saw multiple glitches and delays and caused stress for students and families seeking help paying for college.

While many students experienced delays, students from mixed-status families, or those whose parents don’t have a social security number, were particularly impacted by the glitches.

On Tuesday, DOE officials told members of the press that “many” mixed-status students successfully submitted their applications during Beta 1.

“Throughout the extensive Beta 1 testing, the Department encountered opportunities to improve the usability of the FAFSA form, which was expected given that the Department has prioritized the stability of the application,” the DOE press release said. “Improving usability will continue to be a focus of the Department following the full launch of the FAFSA form on or before Dec. 1.”

For Beta 1 testing, DOE staff attended 2025-26 FAFSA events from Oct. 1-3 in six cities across the country — Birmingham, Alabama; Santa Barbara, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Dallas, Texas; and Alexandria, Virginia.

The department expects more attendees from those events to continue submitting the FAFSA form, along with students being targeted during Beta 2.

Bennett College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington are participating in the upcoming testing stages.

“On behalf of the Department of Education, I want to offer a huge thank you to all of the students, family members, counselors, financial aid experts, and others participating in the testing process,” said U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal. “Their efforts are helping us get the FAFSA ready for everyone.”

You can read more about Beta 1 results, along with upcoming testing, on the department’s website.