FAFSA
Updating UX & UI for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid’s 2025 - 2026 Rollout
Streamlined the FAFSA user experience, improved the AI tool Aidan, and introduced public experiences to reduce user confusion for the October rollout.
Project Summary
User personas, journey maps, web designs for FAFSA updates, and comps for user experience concepts.
Deliverables
See the full project breakdown below. ⬇️
My Role
Researcher and Designer
Google Scholar, Midjourney and Notebook LM
My Research Tools
Figma
My Design Tools
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has long been a gateway to higher education, particularly for students from minority and low-income backgrounds. However, access to financial aid remains uneven. FAFSA applications from communities with higher shares of Black, Latino, non-college-aged adults, or residents living in poverty are nearly twice as likely to be incomplete compared to applications from communities with lower shares of these groups - and this is without processing issues from the government. Yet, application completion rates are just one of many barriers these students face in accessing aid.
In 2020 and 2021, federal policies were enacted to simplify the FAFSA process for applicants. As a result, the release of the 2024-2025 FAFSA—originally scheduled for October 2023—was delayed until December to accommodate these extensive revisions. One major change was replacing the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) with the Student Aid Index (SAI), which altered how financial need is calculated.
However, the rollout has been fraught with technical issues, miscommunications from the U.S. Department of Education, and errors in aid calculations. These challenges have left students, families, and financial aid offices nationwide in a state of uncertainty, with an estimated $1.8 billion in federal aid at risk of going unused.
Research into students’ experiences with the FAFSA revealed pain points and usability aids of the application process.
The Context
How can FAFSA further improve the user experience for the FAFSA application for the 2025 - 2026 rollout?
The Ask
Insight One ➡️ FAFSA Overhauls Haven’t Sped Up the Process for Dependent Students
Following the 2023 FAFSA revamp, dependent students took an average of five days to complete the form, whereas independent students were able to finish it in just 15 minutes for the 2024-2025 application cycle.
Insight Two ➡️ The FAFSA Process Hinges on Financial Document Preparation
Having accurate financial documentation, such as tax records, is crucial for streamlining the FAFSA process—especially for dependent students, who must also include their guardians' financial information, adding to the time required to complete their applications.
This issue became particularly evident during the 2024-2025 FAFSA rollout when 20% of the millions of submitted applications were initially blocked from processing. It was only after significant pressure that the Department of Education finally agreed to move forward with processing them in 2024.
Insight Three ➡️ Artificial Intelligence Has Made the FAFSA Experience Simpler
One of the additions to the FAFSA user experience, Aidan, the AI tool created to improve user experience for the application, has received overwhelmingly positive responses. 2.6 Million unique customers interacted with Aidan, resulting in more than 11 million user messages between 2019 and May 2022.
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“After FAFSA Issues, Education Department Faces ‘Crisis of Credibility,” Inside Higher Ed
“Exclusive: The Education Department says it will fix its $1.8 billion FAFSA mistake,” NPR
“FAFSA Fallout: Application Dropoff Threatening to Widen College Gaps,” The Century Foundation
Kantrowitz, M. (2020, September 24). FAFSA application statistics. Saving for College. Retrieved from https://www.savingforcollege.com/article/fafsa-application-statistics
“Two years of Federal Student Aid’s virtual assistant lead to lessons learned and a clear vision of the work ahead.” Digital.gov
“Watchdog sheds light on FAFSA fiasco, from a birthday bug to call center failures,” LAist
“What factors influence the time it takes to complete the FAFSA form, and how can I minimize them?,” SharedWisdom
Important User Experience & Product Considerations
The research identified key factors which affected how I could adjust the FAFSA user experience.
Given the numerous updates, FAFSA cannot undergo another major overhaul.
Existing frameworks, like the AI tool Aidan, can be leveraged.
A key challenge in the financial section is users' lack of awareness of the required documents.
Based on existing research, I developed two primary user personas to represent those most impacted by the FAFSA changes. Anne is the guardian of Keisha, a dependent student. While they have different levels of tech literacy, both struggle with preparing the necessary documents for the FAFSA process.
Check out the mini slideshow below for a closer look at these users. ⬇️
User Personas
I used the months leading up to the FAFSA opening period to introduce users to Aidan, the FAFSA AI owl, making them more familiar with the assistant well before they began their applications.
To enhance the actual FAFSA experience, I transformed Aidan from a passive AI tool into an active AI assistant, offering real-time support throughout the application process. Now, Aidan appears more prominently and proactively guides users with interactive assistance—providing step-by-step instructions and instant answers to potential questions without being prompted.
View the slideshow below to see how Aidan has been introduced outside of the FAFSA application improved and improved inside of the FAFSA to actively support applicants. ⬇️
Solution
FAFSA on Spotify, Reminding Users of Application Opening Date
FAFSA on Spotify, Reminding Users of Application Opening Date - In-Depth
FAFSA ASMR Partnership
Aidan's VO During Surprise Appearance at School Basketball Game
FAFSA Billboard In The Wild
Aidan's Update for FAFSA Intro
Aidan's Update for FAFSA Section One
Aidan's Update for FAFSA Section Two
Aidan's Update for FAFSA Section Three
Aidan's Update for FAFSA Section Four
Aidan's Update for FAFSA Section Five
These ideas are practical for the US government to implement without overhauling the FAFSA system. Increasing Aidan's visibility before the FAFSA opens helps prepare users by informing them about the necessary documents in advance.
During the initial presentation of my FAFSA UX Revamp, I gathered user ratings to assess the effectiveness and impact of my proposed solutions.
Question: "Rate Logan's FAFSA UX Revamp from 1 (worst) to 5 (best)."
✅ 13 responses
⭐ Average rating: 4.15 out of 5
Impact 💥
As a first-generation student, I am passionate about accessibility and improving educational experiences for future students. I thoroughly enjoyed adjusting FAFSA’s user experience, especially drawing from my personal experiences to enhance the project.
Project Reflection
Check out my other projects below. ⬇️
