Filling out the FAFSA college student aid form may not yet be “delightful,” as federal officials hope. But after fixes triggered by a notorious technical meltdown three years ago, the online application may start to shed its burdensome reputation.

The FAFSA update for the 2027-28 academic year is undergoing testing and is scheduled to be made widely available to students by Oct. 1, the traditional annual opening date.

“It has changed tremendously for the better,” said Julia Hellmich, senior managing director of the college readiness and alumni support program at KIPP DC, a network of charter schools in Washington. KIPP DC students participated in testing of the new form this month.

The new form can generally be completed quickly, and gives students an estimate of their financial aid eligibility much faster than previous versions did, according to Federal Student Aid officials as well as advocates and parents who have tested it.

A government website was upbeat, telling users, “There’s a lot to look forward to” in the new FAFSA. It said changes, like tweaks to the wording of some questions, “aim to make the applicant experience quicker and more delightful.”

That should be welcome news for families in a year that has brought worrisome changes to the world of student aid, including new borrowing limits on education loans for parents and graduate students.

The FAFSA now has a new feature, added in April for the current, 2026-27 form and kept for the coming October version, that could be off-putting for some students: embedded fraud detection screening, which could require some students to verify their identities on camera while completing the form.

Here’s what to know about this year’s form.

What is the FAFSA?

The FAFSA, short for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is required for students seeking federal financial aid for studies beyond high school. The form collects personal and financial information from students and parents and calculates eligibility for federal aid, including grants, work-study programs and low-cost loans.

Many states and many universities also use the form to divvy up their own need-based aid. About 2 million high school seniors typically file the form each year, according to the National College Attainment Network, a nonprofit that promotes college attendance. And research shows that high school seniors who complete the FAFSA are more likely to attend college right after graduation.

Are things expected to go smoothly this year?

Yes, based on early trials of the form, known as beta testing. “It’s 99% running smoothly,” said Eddy Conroy, a spokesperson for the National College Attainment Network. Several of the group’s member organizations have participated in the testing, which began in early August and expanded to a wider pool of students on Monday.

About 2,300 forms were completed in the first stage of beta testing, according to the Education Department, and larger numbers are going to be processed in the coming weeks.

Live testing of the form before its wide release has become routine as part of the effort to catch potential issues early. In the fall of 2023, during a major overhaul of the form under the Biden administration, serious glitches delayed the form’s availability by about three months. The situation improved in 2024 after early testing helped identify problems, but the form was still delayed by a month. Last fall, under the Trump administration, the FAFSA opened to the public on time.

What can I expect from the form this year?

One welcome change is that students and families should get an estimate of their federal aid eligibility within a minute or two of submitting the form, Conroy said. Previously, they had to wait several days.

That’s a significant improvement, he said, because students and their parents often complete the form at evening or weekend workshops. With a swift response, they can discuss the results and head home with a better idea of how much aid they can expect for college, rather than having to follow up again later.

Overall, said Aaron Lemon-Strauss, the former FAFSA program director, the average time to complete a form is now about 10 minutes per person, based on data from the current FAFSA and the beta testing that reflects first-time and returning filers. In the past, he said, it could take an hour or longer.

Manisha Mishra, deputy director of Alabama Possible, a nonprofit anti-poverty group that promotes college attendance, said 127 families attended its FAFSA test event on Aug. 20 at a high school in Trussville, Alabama. Most completed the form in about 15 to 20 minutes, she said.

At KIPP DC, 175 students participated in testing this year, with 40% completing the form at an in-person event. That’s an increase from 20% last year, when KIPP DC first joined the testing, a spokesperson said.