5 ways to communicate with students about the Fall 2025 FAFSA

In early August, the Department of Education announced a delay in the FAFSA release for the Fall 2025 class, pushing availability to December 1. While key details remain uncertain, enrollment leaders should begin planning for another atypical financial aid communication stream.

Drawing from EAB and partner experiences across last cycle’s FAFSA-related challenges, we have a handful of suggestions for your teams to consider in your communication and programming as we navigate Year 2 of the new FAFSA.

How to connect with students about the Fall 2025 FAFSA

1. Encourage students and parents to get their FSA ID immediately.

Students and parents can get an FSA ID at any time, even if the FAFSA is not yet available. Because the FSA ID signup process has a higher level of security than it used to, getting an FSA ID can take a bit of time or be a bit more complicated than it once was. If students and parents already have an FSA ID by December 1, it should make filing a bit easier—and we should do everything possible to create simplicity and ease in what could again be an unpredictable and frustrating process.

FAFSA Submission Support Resources

2. Program financial aid Q&A into your fall visit days and tours.

Make sure you are creating opportunities for students to ask questions about financial aid when they visit campus. Unlike last year, when there was even more uncertainty about FAFSA timing, we do have a specific promised date from the Department of Education when families can fill out the FAFSA: December 1. Make sure families are aware of this date if they visit campus—and give them a sense of the timeline for what will happen after they file a FAFSA as well.

3. Leverage your Net Price Calculator.

For students who want to know more about what they might receive in aid in advance of the actual FAFSA being available, ask them to invest the time in filling out your Net Price Calculator and then commit to that award. For this to work, your NPC should be using the new FAFSA calculations; the results from the calculator, while not official offers of aid, may give some families the confidence they need to make a deposit.

2025-2026 Student Aid Index and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide

4. Utilize ranges in your award examples.

Providing families with a range of award examples based on SAI or income levels can set realistic expectations. This can improve transparency and build trust with families. Reducing the uncertainty families feel makes it easier for them to make informed decisions about their future. By helping families better understand potential financial outcomes, you also support their financial planning, making your institution a more attractive and reliable choice.

5. Make communication your #1 advantage.

There is a real opportunity amid the FAFSA delays: they give your school a chance to differentiate from other institutions by how you handle this perceived service shortfall.

Working with over 200 partners on financial aid, our team knows that schools that communicated often and specifically with students and families generally fared better. Emails to parents, frequently updated websites about the FAFSA delays, and clear information about extensions and refundable deposits all made a big impact in the 2024-2025 cycle. Despite a smoother process and potentially abbreviated delays in the 2025-2026 cycle, communicating early and often can only help you reach your enrollment goals.

Students and their families will always remember how you made them feel.

The outreach opportunities above can make a big difference in your FAFSA communication strategy, but the way you communicate with students and families underlines their effectiveness. No matter what, remember that people often forget the specifics of facts and experiences, but the emotional tenor of interactions sticks with them. Whether it’s in your written communications or in-person encounters, manifest empathy, caring, and friendliness when communicating about these FAFSA delays. While delivering a consistently warm, personal touch can be challenging, those who manage to do so stand out significantly. Providing extra resources to your admissions staff can help ensure that interactions with prospective students are both memorable and positive.

As we all continue to navigate FAFSA-related disruptions, we should remember that financial aid, affordability, and most especially the FAFSA can be difficult for students and families to understand, not to mention sometimes emotionally fraught; enrollment leaders should never underestimate the value of more information, support, and clarity.

For EAB Enroll360 partners, we have continued to update our toolkit of adaptable FAFSA information resources, which includes drag-and-drop resources for students and their families. I encourage you to check them out.

Additionally, our Financial Aid Optimization team is continuing to track the rollout of the new FAFSA and its implications, so subscribe to the enrollment blog for further updates as the year progresses.