Since the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid form was rolled out in late December, many parents and students have complained they’re struggling to fill it out. From glitches and website crashes to access issues, there was no shortage of problems in the early days of the so-called “better FAFSA.”

Filling out the FAFSA is high stakes. The information gathered and distributed could determine whether students can afford the college of their choice. In addition to federal grants and loans, Indiana uses FAFSA to determine state aid, and some schools even use FAFSA information to award scholarships. 

That pressure is further heightened by the late launch of the form, which in most years would have been available in October. Bill Wozniak, vice president of communications and student services for INvestEd Indiana, which helps Hoosier families navigate paying for college, said this crunched timeline is causing anxiety for students and families. 

How to complete the FAFSA

First, you’ll need to create an FSA ID. Both students and their parent or guardian — called “contributors” — will need to create separate IDs this year. It may take several days for the Social Security Administration to review your identifying information, so Wozniak recommends taking this step as soon as possible. 

A new change this year is that stepparents may need to complete the FAFSA, depending on student circumstances. To find out which parent will need to fill out the form, you should check this guide.

After you’ve created your account, it’s time to gather the information you’ll need to complete the federal aid form. 

You’ll need the Social Security or immigration registration numbers — called A-numbers — of all individuals who need to contribute to the form, as well as some financial information like the current balance of cash, checking and savings accounts. You can find a full list of what you’ll need on the Federal Student Aid website.

Next, it’s time to file. Go to StudentAid.Gov to complete your form. For directions while filling out the form, click on the help bubbles next to the questions that explain in further detail what type of information is required. 

Notably, each contributor will log in separately with their unique FSA IDs and complete their own section of the form. So, parents will not have access to students’ applications, and vice versa.

Problems with the FAFSA

Telling someone how to fill out the FAFSA — sight unseen — is easy. Actually doing it is much harder.

The laundry list of problems users have experienced with the new FAFSA form includes everything from unexplained glitches to blocking parents without Social Security numbers from accessing the form.

The Federal Student Aid website released some workarounds to problems that have been brought up. For example, some filers have been having issues with the signature function. According to an alert, if a student or parent returns to the FAFSA to submit it after signing, their signature may have been removed. 

In this case, parents and students should re-sign the form and submit, even without making additional changes.

There’s a section of the form where students must select schools they want to receive their financial information. But the new form truncates many school names, making it difficult to ascertain the right college.

To work around this problem, search for schools by code to ensure that the student is selecting the correct institution. You can download a list of school codes from the Federal Department of Education’s website.

You can find a list of all the errors the federal Department of Education has announced — and see if there’s a workaround — on the Federal Student Aid website.

Fill out the FAFSA soon — but don’t panic

Wozniak said families in a panic should remember that everyone filling out this form is in the same boat timeline-wise. Under a new law, Indiana’s high school seniors have to complete the FAFSA by April 15 — the same day as the state’s “priority” deadline for aid. 

That gives eligible students and families several months to wait for problems to be resolved. 

While no one should procrastinate filling out the FAFSA, the website assures parents and students that they’ll have “ample time” to complete the form, since schools won’t start receiving eligibility information until late January. 

How to find help with FAFSA

There are other resources available for students and families to get help in navigating this process. 

• Wozniak said INvestEd experts will help families navigate the process. To get FAFSA help by phone, email, text or live chat, call 317-715-9007 or email Outreach@INvestEdIndiana.org
• INvestEd also hosts free FAFSA completion workshops around the state. 
• Indianapolis Public Schools is hosting a FAFSA workshop Saturday at Arsenal Tech High School from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
• Learn More Indiana, an initiative led by the state’s Commission for Higher Education, has a FAFSA assistance tool. By filling out a form, you can be connected with an Indiana-based expert.
• You can call 1-800-433-3243 or email studentaid@ed.gov to be connected with a government representative for FAFSA help. 

Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus.

Are you a student or parent filling out the FAFSA? Share your experience with higher education reporter Claire Rafford at claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org