ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Education is making the FAFSA form available to all students for the next school year earlier than expected after testing it and working out bugs faster than anticipated.
It's a relief to many families who struggled with FAFSA last year after it underwent several changes.
11Alive is taking a closer look at lessons learned to create a hopefully smoother process this time around.
What was supposed to be the beginning of a bright future for Lakeisha Johnson's son, Keandre Johnson, at Kennesaw State was dimmed by the great FAFSA meltdown for the 2024-25 school year.
RELATED: Georgia parents, students frustrated over delayed financial aid disbursement amid FAFSA issues
Keandre moved in on campus for this fall semester, only to find out his financial aid money was never released to the school.
"Shortened slightly, they dropped his classes, and a couple days later they ended up emailing him stating that," Lakeisha said. "He had to move out of his dorm."
Thousands of students nationwide faced similar challenges after the U.S. Department of Education overhauled the FAFSA application process last year. It was supposed to simplify the process.
However, there were major glitches with verifying applicants' identities and getting signatures from parents and students.
“The most impacted, I would say, will probably be minority students because there are different factors that weren't taken into consideration," Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) Assistant Director of Financial Aid Processing Keisha Whittaker said. "Students whose parents may only have an employee identification number where they don't have a Social Security number because it's very imperative that your name matches."
Whittaker said she has seen firsthand the new and improved FAFSA application for the 2025-26 school year because her son was selected for beta testing.
"The one thing that happened last year was that we were stopped in the middle of completing the application," Whittaker said. "This year, we were able to complete the application in its entirety."
The Department of Education says beta testing has worked so well that the applications are now open for everyone ahead of schedule.
2025-2026 FAFSA tips
Whittaker has some inside tips to ensure success.
“Make sure that you create an FSA user ID at least three days before completing the FAFSA application," Whittaker said.
Next, she says to use the exact name on your social security card and have the school codes for your top choices so that the institution automatically gets you financial aid info.
After last year's fallout, GGC created a FAFSA competition center, which has helped more than 600 students.
It opens again next week to ensure financial aid isn't the source of a dream deferred, which almost happened to Keandre until his financial aid hiccup was worked out at Kennesaw State this fall.
"I saw he was getting discouraged and that's what I was fearing that he would say like, 'Oh, I’ll just go next year, you know and not go,'" Lakeisha said.
Now, he's a beacon of hope for his family.
"He is breaking generational curses in our home and that's why I was so adamant about him going because I wanted him to experience that college life that I never did," Lakeisha added. "And it wasn't just about me, but that's something he expressed that he wanted, and so I'm grateful for that."
The Department of Education is beefing up staffing at its call center and extending its hours. If families run into any roadblocks, they can now call the FAFSA support center through 10 p.m. on weekdays.
To learn more about the FAFSA support center, click here. You can also find additional FAFSA resources from Georgia Gwinnett College online here.