If you’re like me, you've had a dream where you can’t remember your locker combination, or it’s the end of the semester and you haven’t been going to class. I’m not a dream analyst so I can’t help you with your anxiety-inducing dreams, but I can help you avoid the anxiety that might come from missing key college dates! That’s why I’m offering:

3 dates to know when applying to colleges and a scholarship webinar invitation

1. Application deadline

College applications for Fall 2024 are available now, and many students have already begun completing applications for colleges across the country. At CMU, our new application launched on August 1. So when should your student apply? That depends on the school.

Some colleges in Michigan and across the country have an application deadline. Others operate based on policies called Early Decision and Early Action, where students must apply relatively early in their senior year of high school. Most often, these deadlines land between October 15 to January 1.

Other colleges, as is the case at CMU, allow students to apply and be admitted all the way until just before classes start – I do NOT recommend waiting that long. In fact, at most schools, the earlier you apply, the better your chances are to be considered for scholarships, to choose the classes you want, to select the roommates and dorm you want to live in, and more. 

My advice is to contact the admissions office at the schools your student is planning to apply to. Ask them to explain the application deadline to you. This will ensure you have the best chance for admission, scholarships, and much more.

2. Scholarship deadlines

Admission application deadlines often differ from scholarship application deadlines. For instance, CMU’s largest competitive scholarship requires a student to apply for admission and apply for the scholarship by Oct. 15 of their senior year. Students should look for the application deadlines for each of the competitive scholarship programs that interest them.

 

If you’re looking for more information about scholarships at another school, I again suggest starting with their admissions office. Typically, Admissions is the best source for application and scholarship information for prospective students.

 

3. FAFSA filing date

Finally, it’s important to understand when you can begin to file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is the form that students must complete to qualify for federal grants and loans and is also frequently used in the awarding of state and local scholarships. Michigan students may find they are eligible for the Michigan Achievement Scholarship based on their FAFSA results, which is worth up to $5,500 per year while in college.

The FAFSA is undergoing some changes and will be available by the end of the year. The exact date has not been identified by the federal government, but it will be available in December, and we will notify students and parents when the FAFSA is open. In future years, starting in 2024, the FAFSA will open on October 1.

I hope this information proves helpful to you and your family. I would like to again invite you to view the CMU scholarships webinar we hosted in September 2023 to make sure you don’t miss an opportunity to help your student get the scholarships they are eligible for.

Let us know if you have any questions about this month’s blog, and…

Fire Up Chips!

Bob