(VIRGINIA MERCURY) - More than 180,000 applicants seeking financial assistance for college have already begun applying using the 2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, following the U.S. Department of Education’s rollout of the application more than a week before the agency’s deadline.

The rollout comes more than a month after Virginia’s colleges and universities, as well as others around the country, opened for the 2026-2027 school year. The launch also follows a lengthy overhaul, which the agency said will “simplify” and “modernize” the application process. The department has also made changes to the formulas used to determine aid eligibility.

The deadline to publish the revamped FAFSA form was set for October 1 by Congress and then-President Joe Biden.

The

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