INDIANAPOLIS (MIRROR INDY) — Indianapolis college counselors are urging families to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid as soon as possible. The 2025-26 form was scheduled to launch Dec. 1, but the federal government announced students could access it Nov. 18. The form is in the testing stage, though, meaning officials could make adjustments depending on performance. When the new FAFSA form launched last year, there were widespread issues almost immediately — the most serious of which was a glitch that blocked many parents who immigrated here. Counselors are hopeful that filing will run more smoothly this year, but they’re prepared to weather the worst. “Our staff will remain calm, cool, collected and supportive,” said Austin Dodd, who oversees postsecondary programs at IPS. “We’re ready to stand there and walk alongside the students and families for every step of the process.” Indiana high school students are required to fill out FAFSA or opt out by April 15. Create your Federal Student Aid account ASAP Counselors recommend creating your Federal Student Aid account as soon as possible, because it can take several days to process. “We cannot stress enough how important it is: If you know you’re going to be filing, get that done right away,” said Bill Wozniak, vice president of marketing at INvestEd, a nonprofit that offers free financial aid assistance to Indiana families. “If it takes 10 minutes, great, but if there are glitches and problems, you don’t want to be doing that at the last moment.” You can create your student aid username and password online anytime by following this checklist. You will need to provide your name, date of birth and Social Security number. Monique Ware, executive director of financial aid at Ivy Tech Indianapolis, recommends having your 2023 tax information on hand when filling out the FAFSA. You should also have records of untaxed income such as child support, as well as the balances of your checking and savings accounts. How IPS and Ivy Tech are preparing This winter, IPS will prioritize helping seniors who plan to graduate early. Starting in the spring, they’ll begin helping all other college-bound students. “We want to make sure that it’s getting processed quickly so that they can get a turnaround financial aid package,” said Dodd. “We’re hopeful that this year those can be a little bit more timely as opposed to last year.” IPS also recently restructured its Future Centers to have a counselor at each school focused solely on enrollment and FAFSA. All its college specialists were also given cell phones to better communicate with families. At Ivy Tech Indianapolis, counselors will use shortcuts and tips they’ve learned over the last year. “We know how to navigate some of the things that may still exist or haven’t been resolved yet that we can help students through,” Ware said. “We’re here to help, and we just want to make it as smooth as possible for families and students.” More FAFSA resources INvestEd Indiana experts offer free financial aid help by phone or email. Call 317-715-9007 or email [email protected]. INvestEd is also hosting free events across the state to help people create student aid accounts and will begin hosting free FAFSA completion workshops in December. Ivy Tech, IPS and other Indianapolis colleges and school districts will host events this winter and spring to help students and families complete their forms. Contact your school or college of choice for more information. Learn More Indiana, an initiative led by the state Commission for Higher Education, has a FAFSA assistance tool. Fill out this form to be connected with an Indiana-based expert. You can call 1-800-433-3243 to be connected with a government representative for FAFSA help in English or Spanish. Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire at [email protected] or on Instagram/X @clairerafford.