Flores was among the 50 or so families that participated in the four-hour session that started at 9 a.m. Nov. 15 in the Socorro Independent School District Service Center, 12440 Rojas Drive. It was organized by financial aid representatives from Texas Tech Health El Paso, El Paso Community College and the University of Texas at El Paso.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed help from square one,\u201d said Flores, who attended the session by herself. \u201cI think anyone who doesn\u2019t know how (FAFSA) works should take advantage of these information sessions. (The UTEP representatives) were helpful. They explained everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additional FAFSA Informational Sessions, which include English and Spanish presentations about the costs of college and financial aid options, are scheduled through December.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The FAFSA for the 2026-27 academic year launched Sept. 24, a full week before the usual Oct. 1 start date, and months before the application was released the previous two years due mostly to technical glitches. This version is for students who will attend college or a career school from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.<\/p>\n
El Paso FAFSA event organizers estimated that the sessions have attracted 50 to 100 families to each where topics ranged from financing higher education to how to help students ease into the college experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for the local application process, financial aid advisers said things were going well.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FAFSA-Bill-DeBaun.jpg\")
Bill DeBaun, senior director of data and strategic initiatives at the National College Attainment Network, said the latest version of the FAFSA has garnered positive reviews, but mixed-status families still have concerns. (Photo courtesy of NCAN)\u00a0<\/p>\n
The same can be said nationally. In fact, an official with the National College Attainment Network said that the early FAFSA release and the improvements to the document could mean an all-time high in application completion by high school seniors.<\/p>\n
Bill DeBaun, senior director for Data and Strategic Initiatives at NCAN, said the usual peak FAFSA response by June 30 for high school seniors is 54%. He believes that the Class of 2026 could reach 57%. That translates to about 2.5 million graduates completing their FAFSA. As of this past July, the FAFSA Tracker<\/a> stated that Texas\u2019 completion rate for the Class of 2025 was 64.6%, which ranked fourth in the country after Tennessee, New Jersey and Illinois.<\/p>\n The improvements include the almost instantaneous Federal Student Aid ID creation process. The identification is a username or password that students and contributors need to access and sign their FSA information. Previous versions forced applicants to wait a few days for an FSA ID. Overall, this year\u2019s process has been faster and more efficient.<\/p>\n One of the more problematic topics has been how to advise mixed-status families, which are households where members have different immigration or citizenship statuses. Many families and advocates are concerned that private information shared on the FAFSA could be used to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n DeBaun said the Higher Education Act prohibits the use of FAFSA data for anything other than the determining and awarding of federal financial aid, but he added that NCAN cannot assure those families that the data they submit in their FAFSA will remain protected. NCAN suggests counselors advise contributors without a Social Security number about the risks and benefits of submitting their information. The group released a paper<\/a> last month to guide families in that situation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a very sensitive topic,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are a lot of ramifications here.\u201d<\/p>\n Marcia Carmona, assistant director of student engagement in UTEP\u2019s Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, said that she has worked with mixed-status families and stressed to them that the student needs to be a citizen; the contributor does not. It does not matter if the contributor lives in Mexico or does not have a Social Security number.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Carmona, who has helped students with their FAFSAs for 23 years, said she is thankful that so many families attend the information sessions to get a more holistic picture of financial aid options to include grants or scholarships from employers or the military.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people come (to information sessions) to get started. Others come because they are stuck. Some have no clue,\u201d Carmona said after the initial rush had cleared out. She estimated that she has helped prepare more than 11,000 FAFSAs. \u201cWe help all of them get through the process.\u201d<\/p>\n The financial aid director said that the early launch of the 2026-27 FAFSA \u201cjump started\u201d opportunities for students and their families to submit their application, which could end up at as many as 20 institutions each.<\/p>\n Those colleges and universities will develop financial aid packages for the students based on the FAFSA information. Those award offers could go out as soon as early December. Students can factor those packages as they weigh their college options.<\/p>\n Nivia Uribe, an Americas High School student who expects to graduate in June, said she was not sure which college to attend, but she wanted to study sonography. The 17-year-old Eastsider admitted to being nervous at the information session because it was her first time trying to fill out the FAFSA.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t as hard as I expected,\u201d said Uribe, who needed some help to complete her FAFSA. She and her godmother, Daisy Fuentes, were the fifth family in line when the doors opened.<\/p>\n Atianna Dungy and her mother, Josie Dungy, were among the late arrivals, but it was because they had a different agenda. Atianna, a senior in Eastlake High School\u2019s early college program, and her mother, already had submitted their FAFSA.<\/p>\n The two came to learn about other financial opportunities to pay for college, and the steps Atianna, 17, would need to pursue a nursing degree at UTEP. One of the options was the Paydirt Promise,<\/a> which covers tuition and fees of eligible Texas residents whose family income is $100,000 or less.<\/p>\n \u201cWe needed to find out what else was out there,\u201d Josie Dungy said. \u201cThings aren\u2019t getting any cheaper.\u201d<\/p>\n The federal government launched FAFSA in 1992. It was an amendment to the Higher Education Act to create a single, standardized application to streamline requests for needs-based federal financial aid. It replaced the Common Financial Aid Form.<\/p>\n Students and families that want to learn more about FAFSA can visit a revamped StudentAid.gov,<\/a> which reportedly made it easier for users to find information, submit applications and receive confirmations. NCAN also prepared a single page resource guide<\/a> to complete the FAFSA.<\/p>\n Upcoming FAFSA Information Sessions<\/p>\n Students and families who want help to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, may attend upcoming information sessions organized by Texas Tech Health El Paso, El Paso Community College and the University of Texas at El Paso.\u00a0<\/p>\n The bilingual sessions are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Topics will include the costs of college and financial aid options, to include the Texas Application for State Financial Aid, or TASFA, as well as institutional grants.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nov. 22: Horizon High School, 14651 Horizon Blvd., and San Elizario High School, 13981 Socorro Road.<\/p>\n Dec. 6: Region 19 Education Service Center, 6611 Boeing Drive.<\/p>\n Organizers suggest participants bring a fully charged personal electronic device, personal identification and active personal email account information for student and parent, and 2024 tax information.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/FAFSA-3.jpg\")
Marcia Carmona, assistant director of Student Engagement in UTEP\u2019s Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, standing, helps the Arroyos-Beltran family with a FAFSA form during the Nov. 15 FAFSA Informational Session at the Socorro ISD Service Center, 12440 Rojas Drive. (Daniel Perez \/ El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Fafsa-4.jpg\")
Atianna Dungy, left, and her mother, Josie Dungy, right, asked UTEP\u2019s Paola Chavez, financial aid student engagement director, about the university\u2019s additional financial aid opportunities during a Nov. 15 FAFSA Informational Session at the Socorro ISD Service Center, 12440 Rojas Drive. (Daniel Perez \/ El Paso Matters) <\/p>\n