After a challenging rollout of the “Better FAFSA” last year that resulted in fewer students completing the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the 2025-26 FAFSA is set to open for all students on Dec. 1. Prior to that date, a limited set of students and institutions are participating in beta testing of the 2025-26 form.

“The beta testing period allows the Department to maximize a positive user experience by identifying and resolving system errors that could impact students, contributors, and institutions,” says a recent press release from the U.S. Department of Education announcing additional participants in the beta testing.

The first stage of testing started Oct. 1. For this stage, students recruited by six community-based organizations are submitting their FAFSA forms to be processed by the Department and sent to the respective higher education institutions and state agencies.

Beta testing stages two through four will occur between mid-October to mid-November. Bennett College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington are the North Carolina institutions participating in the upcoming testing stages. 

In the meantime, a Charlotte-based collective is focused on sharing resources and further developing their community-based approach to supporting students with the upcoming FAFSA cycle.

The heartbeat of community

Queen City Collaborative (QCC) is identified as one of 15 myFutureNC local educational attainment collaboratives. A partnership between myFutureNC and the ncIMPACT Initiative at the UNC School of Government, the collaboratives “seek to increase the number of students successfully completing post-secondary credentials of value in the workforce: a degree, credential, or certification.”

In 2019, myFutureNC announced an attainment goal for North Carolina: 2 million North Carolinians ages 25-44 with a high-quality credential or a postsecondary degree by 2030. 

Charles Mitchell is the executive director of strategic engagement at Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) and project manager of QCC. Mitchell considers nonprofits to be “the heartbeat of our community,” and highlights their engagement with students outside of K-12 and higher ed environments.

“We want to make sure we incorporate any individual or any organization that can impact FAFSA completion, and we noticed quickly that nonprofits in our area are the ones that we should,” Mitchell stated. This perspective informs the purpose behind the recent convening with nonprofits.

Collaborative approach to informing communities 

QCC hosted a FAFSA summit for nonprofits on Sep. 25 at CPCC in partnership with the Equitable Foundation. Approximately 80 attendees across over 20 organizations attended the gathering with the focus of increasing access to financial aid for students and families.

The event featured a “FAFSA  101,” enabling participants to engage with financial professionals from CPCC, Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), Queens University of Charlotte, and UNC Charlotte. 

Dr. Davida Haywood, JCSU’s vice president of student affairs and campus engagement, stated that the summit was important for connecting organizations that have similar goals of helping students find institutions that best suit their needs while making financially sound decisions.

“We know that the FAFSA continues to pose issues and problems, but working with not-for-profits and nonprofits, again, the people doing the trench work, makes that process a little bit easier,” she added.

Presenters discussed the submission process from start to end, common mistakes, and changes that have been made to the form within the past year. 

“We all have some of the same organizations going towards the same goals. …What I’ve learned is if we can all come together collectively, we’re going to get better outcomes. I think sometimes we try to work in silos, where you have an event, you have an event, and then we have an event, and then kids are not going to come to all three events, but they will all come to one event.”

Tamara Satterfield, school counselor with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Attendees also heard from Dr. JuanEs Ramirez, associate outreach director of special populations and immigration at the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC). Ramirez focused on supporting special populations impacted by immigration. 

Throughout, he spoke about FAFSA eligibility for noncitizens, common challenges, and even cultural implications that may impact completion efforts. The Carolina Migrant Network (CMN) was among the many resources that Ramirez highlighted. 

CMN’s co-founder and co-director, Stefania Arteaga, shared that they provide a legal workshop for individuals in Mecklenburg County to understand their immigration status. Arteaga added that they recently partnered with two other organizations to open the Charlotte is Home Center, a place where immigrants and refugees can receive health care, legal, and education services.

Ramirez said he appreciates the collaborative being willing to do things differently — bringing funders, the business community, education, and nonprofits together.

“I think that it’s going to benefit all because they’re thinking about all the pieces that make the community a community,” he added.

In alignment, the summit held a panel discussion moderated by Ricky Singh, executive eirector of My Brother’s Keeper Charlotte-Mecklenburg, where nonprofits were able to hear directly from a parent, school counselor, and students about their experience completing the FAFSA.

As a parent of a first-year student at UNC Chapel Hill, Lisa Kirton described the FAFSA process as “confusing.” She said she was grateful for her husband’s organization of their financial documents, saying that not having that information on hand would make the process that much more frustrating. 

Andre Myrie, a sophomore at Queens University of Charlotte, said between trouble with website functionality and multiple delays in the system, the FAFSA process was long and tedious for his family. Myrie expressed that “getting parents prepared in advance,” even as early as sophomore year of high school, is what would make a significant difference.

For Charlotte Lab School senior Gabrielle Wortham, the FAFSA is quickly approaching. Though she expressed feeling overwhelmed by numerous tasks associated with the process, she went on to say, “After seeing you today, I feel a lot better with the information that was shared to me.”

Resources 

Timeka Ruffin, a regional manager for CFNC, provided nonprofit partners with examples of practices used and suggestions for outreach, such as targeted emails and events like “FAFSA fiestas.” In reflecting on last year, Ruffin said individualized assistance is still one of the most effective methods. 

“Because you have that one-on-one access with students, that’s an important piece,” she said. “We can’t always do that in the schools, but we love that you are all able to do that with your students, kind of one-on-one outside of school.” 

Ruffin said CFNC’s FAFSA tracker is a significant resource for nonprofit partners. Located under the “FAFSA Tools” tab on CFNC’s website, the tracker is free and accessible to the public without a login. 

She said the tracker can be used to access FAFSA completion rates, Pell Grant eligibility estimates, and various other demographic information. The tool can display data at district levels and for individual schools.

The U.S. Department of Education press release lists other resources for the 2025-26 FAFSA cycle, including: 

• An updated 2025–26 FAFSA prototype, which provides the financial aid community an advance opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the FAFSA user experience ahead of its release.

• A revised Federal Student Aid estimator, which provides an estimate of the 2025-26 Student Aid Index (SAI) and federal Pell Grant eligibility calculation. 

• Updated resources to support creating a StudentAid.Gov account, including a new stand-alone ‘parent wizard’ or contributor tool to help students and families determine who will need to provide contributor information on the 2025-26 FAFSA.

Correction: A previous version of this article included the incorrect name of Queens University of Charlotte. The article has been updated.