FAFSA Season Has Begun

Federal Student Aid selected The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to participate in the third phase of beta testing for Financial Aid applications, giving students early access to the 25-26 FAFSA form.

In an email sent Oct.24 by UTRGV Financial Aid, students were notified they could sign up to receive early access to fill out their FAFSA application. The application will open to everyone Dec.1.

Students volunteering to participate in beta testing had to sign up by Oct.28 and should have received an email invitation to fill their FAFSA form by Thursday. 

In a statement released Sept. 11, Federal Student Aid stated beta testing participants should expect to encounter system issues, such as difficulty obtaining FSA IDs and delays when submitting the FAFSA form.

“[Beta testing is] an opportunity to help identify any issues that may come up and help them resolve before it comes available to the general public,” said Roman Silva, UTRGV assistant director of Financial Aid. 

Silva said the 25-26 FAFSA beta phase will not be available to all students.

“The communication was sent out to students that are currently enrolled and have completed the 24-25 FAFSA,” he said. “It’s for select students and select institutions, it’s not for everyone and it’s by invitation only.”

Marco Ontiveiros, a UTRGV computer engineering junior, signed up to complete his FAFSA form through beta testing.

“To me, it seems that I could simply do FAFSA way sooner than the actual release,” Ontiveiros said.

According to Ontiveiros, the signup process only asked for “simple information,” such as his name, email and number of contributors he has along with their emails. 

Asked about what beta testing volunteers should expect, Silva mentioned it will be similar to the 24-25 FAFSA form.

“I believe the focus is going to be more on just making it more efficient and a better experience for students,” he said. “That’s the focus for 25-26, according to the Department of Education.”

After students are able to submit their FAFSA form, they will be asked to complete a survey asking about their experience. 

Survey results as of Wednesday show that out of the 9,145 forms submitted, there is a 95% satisfaction rate from the 36 institutions participating in Beta 3.

For additional updates on beta testing, visit Federal Student Aid’s website.

Some students, such as Raizel Marquez, a UTRGV nursing senior, will be waiting until December to complete the 25-26 FAFSA form.

“I received the FAFSA email and saw there was sort of a short signup period, so I wasn’t able to sign up for it,” Marquez said. 

She said beta testing is an “interesting” opportunity for students who want to submit their application early. 

Students who were not accepted for beta testing will be invited to complete their FAFSA form when it becomes available to the public. 

“[Students] probably put an incorrect email address for one of their contributors or they couldn’t match the FSA ID with the name of the student and email of the student,” Silva said when explaining why some students were not given access.  

According to Silva, students were given an extra opportunity to submit their information, but if they did not take action, they will have to wait until Dec. 1.

The assistant director said students should start gathering the documentation needed for the application process, including their social security number and federal income tax returns.

Silva said he encourages students filling out FAFSA for the first time to not wait for the form to open.

“[Students] can create their FSA ID right now and get kind of a head start,” he said.

For additional help, students may visit the UTRGV Financial Aid Express Lab in the Student Services Building in Edinburg and The Tower 1.100 in Brownsville.