By Alessandra Cipriani-Detres, Program Associate

Reading time: Six minutes

The opening of the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is less than one month away, and it’s no surprise that feelings of distrust around federal financial aid may be lingering through the halls of high school and college campuses. Many counselors and advisors were left feeling helpless as they tried to get students and families through a broken form on a timeline shortened by over three months after the FAFSA [kind of] opened on December 30 last year. Even more disheartening was that the FAFSA complications most greatly impacted students with the most barriers to accessing and completing postsecondary education such as students from mixed-status families.

This blog post is not meant to encourage us to forget the numerous difficulties experienced by students, families, and those who supported them in completing the form last year. Rather, it recognizes that despite the challenges we’ve faced and may continue to face this upcoming cycle, the FAFSA's critical role in breaking financial barriers for our nation’s most financially vulnerable students to be able to get to and through postsecondary education has not changed. Check out the rest of this article for some tips to get you through this upcoming FAFSA cycle and work on restoring trust in the students and families who experienced distress last year.

When Working with Students and Families

It would not be surprising if students and families have doubts about the FAFSA process this year, especially if they heard stories from relatives or acquaintances who had a less than smooth experience with the 2024-25 form. When working with people with these concerns, it is important to consider their background in your response. For example, saying, “most students and families now can complete the form in seven-11 minutes,” might be convincing enough for a student whose parents have Social Security Numbers (SSNs) to start the FAFSA. On the contrary, it would be inappropriate to say this same statement to a student whose parent(s) do not have social security numbers. Mixed-status families were one of, if not the most, negatively impacted populations by the FAFSA rollout last year. When the form was released, NCAN members shared stories with us about their mixed-status families leaving FSA ID and FAFSA completion nights feeling defeated, as they encountered yet another barrier to social and economic mobility after the form would not allow contributors without an SSN to create an FSA ID. This problem persisted until the end of April 2024, just a handful of weeks before the end of the school year and days before the national college decision deadline.

While the workaround for contributors without an SSN to complete an FSA ID has been found, feelings of embarrassment, frustration, and defeat are likely still present among mixed-status families who tried to complete the FAFSA last year. To mitigate these experiences, we recommend counselors take the following steps to support mixed-status families who are submitting a FAFSA this year, whether they are renewing or first-time filers.

1. Encourage students and their contributors to set up their FSA ID and complete the FAFSA as soon as possible. Reach out to a trusted counselor or advisor if they have questions.
2. Brief school communities, including parents, on changes to this year’s process.
3. Connect with mixed-status families to address any concerns they may have about the financial aid process. Be honest and keep statements factual and informative to break through any skepticism.
4. Inform the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) and/or National College Attainment Network (NCAN) of any technical issues faced by those completing the form and check in frequently for updates from FSA regarding the workarounds and processes for undocumented parents and guardians.

For Counselors, Advisors, State Agencies, and CBOs

For the counselors and advisors who worked directly with students and families last year, feelings of exhaustion and defeat are also likely still present. Restoring trust in counselors and advisors should be grounded in transparency, training, and communication. NCAN has a slew of information and resources to help advisors understand the complexities of the application and confidently guide students through the process. Additionally, FSA recently released a list of resources to assist in preparation for the 2025-26 FAFSA cycle such as the FAFSA Roadmap, Prototype, and Preview Presentation.

We’ve seen increased transparency from FSA this year. They heard you, and while everything might still not be perfect, improvements have been made as we now have access to much more information, resources, and workarounds than we did the year prior.

On a lighter note, some schools and organizations have turned to the power of music to improve team culture as the opening of the FAFSA nears. With songs ranging from “We Didn’t Start the Fire” to “I Will Survive”, the FAFSA Complification Spotify playlist strikes a balance between acknowledging the rough patches and reminding us that we will get to the finish line.

The amount of national attention the FAFSA received this past year is something we have never seen in federal financial aid’s history. Yes, the attention was largely negative, but if this tells us anything, it’s that the FAFSA is so important. When the FAFSA doesn’t work the way it is supposed to, we recognize the grave effects it has on students who need access to it the most.

The FAFSA remains a vital tool for expanding access to higher education, especially for students from low and middle-class backgrounds whose largest barriers to accessing higher education are related to cost. Restoring trust in the FAFSA this year will hinge on clear communication, transparency, and most importantly, people coming together to step up for students. We are stronger when we work together, and NCAN will be along for the ride as we continue to advocate and educate so we can get back to the day where completing the FAFSA is just one seven-11 minute-long step on students’ college enrollment checklists.  

A special thank you goes out to NCAN’s Postsecondary Pathway Partners for providing valuable insight on this blog post. Your efforts this past year are appreciated more than you know!