Bill DeBaun, Senior Director of Data and Strategic Initiatives
Reading time: Two minutes
Now that the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is open, it’s time to get students and their contributors completing it. The US
Department of Education (ED) very recently announced a “High
School Senior FAFSA Week of Action,” which will take place December 9-13.
ED notes in a message to partners and the field:
“In preparation for the FAFSA Week of Action, we are encouraging high school counselors, principals and other school leaders, superintendents, after school programs, parent groups, non-profit organizations, and other local and state education organizations to commit to taking action to raise awareness about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, specifically focusing on helping students create their FSA ID, and to help students submit their FAFSA forms. Simplified and streamlined, the FAFSA will provide more aid to more students than ever before to help pay for college.”
They’d love to hear this week about the actions that stakeholders will be taking to help more students and families create their FSA IDs and submit their FAFSA Forms! You can email us at FAFSA2025-26@ed.gov by this Friday, December 6.
The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) recently released our 2025-26 FAFSA page, including:
This week of action follows a similar one last spring that worked to spur class of 2024 seniors to complete. This year’s week is coming much
earlier in the cycle, and NCAN is hopeful that when high school-level FAFSA completion data is released for this year’s seniors, we will see year-over-year increases.
ED added some additional resources available now for all students and families:
2025-26 FAFSA Pro Tips – Tips to help students and families successfully complete the FAFSA.