Required form questions when using FACTS

Why the build matters

FACTS expects an exact shape. Each field maps to one specific FACTS field, so a question built the wrong way has nothing clean to map to. When a value can't be mapped, the inquiry either fails to sync or lands in FACTS incomplete. And fixing it after launch means editing the live form and re-mapping everything, so it's worth building right the first time.

The required questions

Every FACTS form has to capture all of these:

Names — four separate fields

• Student First Name
• Student Last Name
• Parent First Name
• Parent Last Name

Contact — required

• Email
• Phone Number

Handle with care

• Grade Level (individual grades, no ranges)
• School Year (a year range, not a program start)

Additional information

• Lead Recommendation (flows into the FACTS Parent/Guardian Notes field)

Names: four fields, always

FACTS stores first and last name separately, and it keeps the student distinct from the parent. That's four fields, and every name has to be its own question.

Do

• Student First Name
• Student Last Name
• Parent First Name
• Parent Last Name

Don't

• "Full Name" as one combined field
• "Name" that lumps student and parent together

A combined name can't be split into the four FACTS fields, so it won't map.

Grade Level: one grade per option, never a range

This is the most common mistake. Grade Level maps to a single FACTS value, so every answer choice has to be one individual grade.

Do — individual grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, and so on for each grade.

Don't — ranges: K–5, 6th–8th, 9–12, Elementary, Middle School.

A range has no single grade value to send, so FACTS can't store it.

School Year: ask for a year range, not a start date

This maps to the FACTS School Year field, and the answer has to be a year range. A program-start question like "When are you looking to start?" does not map here.

Do — Question: "Which school year are you applying for?"

• 2025–2026
• 2026–2027
• 2027–2028

Don't — Question: "When are you looking to start?"

• This Fall
• Next Semester
• ASAP

Program-start answers aren't year ranges, so they won't map to School Year.

Lead Recommendation: nothing to build, just confirm the mapping

Halda generates the Lead Recommendation. Families don't fill it in, so there's no question to build on the form. It flows into the FACTS Parent/Guardian Notes field (ID 8), which is where the admissions team reads it inside FACTS. Your only job here is to confirm this mapping is enabled in the FACTS export config.

Field mapping reference

Note: The grade level and school year Halda values can vary between forms, so always check the actual question when you map.

Pre-flight checklist: run this before every FACTS go-live

• Four separate name fields — student first and last, parent first and last
• Grade level is individual — one grade per option, never a range
• School year is a year range — not the program-start question
• Lead Recommendation mapped — to FACTS Parent/Guardian Notes

Build it right on the form and mapping takes two minutes.