General Beta Questions
What exactly is a beta?
A beta is an early release of a technology product. It is a software industry best-practice to make new tools (like the 2025-26 FAFSA form) available to a limited number of individuals before making it broadly available. Doing so ensures that the product works as expected when released fully.
What does it mean to participate in beta testing?
Signing up for the 2025-26 FAFSA beta testing means your participation will help ensure the 2025-26 FAFSA form works as well as possible when it is released to the public on or before Dec. 1.
Does beta testing involve the "real" FAFSA form?
Beta participants will be completing the live version of the 2025-26 FAFSA form. Colleges listed on the form will receive Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) and be able to process financial aid packages. Beta participants will not need to complete another 2025-26 form in the future.
If there are issues will you still launch the full form by Dec. 1?
The primary purpose of the beta test process is to identify and fix any major system issues that could affect the broad launch of the form. We anticipate that, because of the beta test, the system will launch on or before Dec. 1 without major issues. We are currently on track with our milestones to do so.
Beta Selection
How many organizations applied to Beta 1? What went into the selection?
More than 80 organizations expressed interest in Beta 1. The six community-based organizations (CBOs) were selected because they, and the institutions of higher education (IHEs) they work with, will collectively help the Department meet its goals of working with hundreds of students and their contributors at in-person FAFSA completion events and of testing FAFSA processing with IHEs. The participating organizations are Alabama Possible, Bridge2Life, CollegeAIM, Education is Freedom, the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, and the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria.
What criteria are you using to select organizations?
We will select CBOs and high schools based on:
- Number of students the organization expects to be able to recruit
- Experience providing support for one-on-one FAFSA login, submission, and corrections for students and contributors
- Proven experience successfully hosting FAFSA completion events
- Diversity of student populations that the CBO supports in completing the FAFSA form.
We will select postsecondary institutions based on:
- Number of students the institution expects to be able to recruit
- Ability to recruit returning students to fill out the FAFSA form
- Ability to test ISIRs
- Diversity of student populations that they can recruit
What populations are you particularly focused on for the beta?
Beta tests will include students who are at different points along their education journey, have different family configurations with different income levels, and are from different parts of the country, particularly:
- Students from mixed-status families
- First-generation students
- Students experiencing or at risk of homelessness
- Students who might not be in contact with their parents
- Students or family members who are incarcerated
The Department will also include different types of institutions in the beta tests, including community colleges, public universities, private colleges, HBCUs, and minority-serving institutions.
Can all types of IHEs participate in the beta testing?
Yes, public, private nonprofit, and private for-profit schools are all eligible to participate.
Beta Participants
Will anyone be receiving incentives or other types of compensation?
The Department will not provide incentives or compensation to CBOs, high schools, IHEs, the students whom they recruit, or financial aid software vendors that participate in beta testing. CBOs, high schools, or IHEs may provide incentives on their own to encourage students and families to participate in FAFSA submission sessions, as is a standard practice for many of these organizations. None of these activities are funded by the Department.
How will participants be trained about what to do? Will the Department be providing support during the beta to participating organizations?
The Department is conducting orientation sessions for selected organizations to review expectations for participants. We will provide instructions and on-going guidance to help organizations recruit students, help them identify contributors and get StudentAid.gov accounts (username and password), hold FAFSA completion events, and support students and families in completing their FAFSA forms. We will also provide institutions of higher education guidelines for the types of ISIR testing that we would like them to perform. Department staff will be available remotely to identify and troubleshoot system issues. Federal Student Aid contact centers will be prepared to handle issues that may affect people participating in beta testing.
Students
What happens if there is an issue during beta testing and an applicant gets stuck and can’t submit?
We recognize that issues can occur with any major new software release. During Beta 1, we will have on-site support from a combination of staff of the community-based organization and the Department. We will escalate issues rapidly, identify workarounds, and work to solve them as quickly as possible. If there is an issue that prevents students from submitting immediately, we will work to quickly fix the problem and communicate with the student once the issue is resolved. For Betas 2-4 the FSA Contact Center will be prepared to support users with any issues that arise.