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 widely available to students by Oct. 1.

"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 and advocates and parents who have tested it.

"It's 99 percent running smoothly," said Eddy Conroy, a spokesman for the National College Attainment Network. About 2,300 forms were completed in the first stage of beta testing, according to the Education Department, with larger numbers to be processed in coming weeks. A new embedded fraud detection feature, added in April, may require some students to verify their identities on camera.