Is it too late to apply for external scholarships for 2024-25 freshman year? FAFSA timing question

It's not too late for all scholarships, but many of the major ones with big dollar amounts typically have deadlines between November and February. That said, there are still legitimate opportunities available! Here are some strategies that might help: 1. Check with each college's financial aid office directly - many schools have departmental scholarships with later deadlines 2. Local scholarships often have later deadlines (April-June) - check with your high school guidance office, community foundation, local businesses, religious organizations, and parents' employers 3. Use legitimate scholarship search engines like FastWeb, Scholarships.com, or the College Board's scholarship search 4. Look for scholarships with rolling deadlines or monthly awards Also, consider appealing your financial aid offers at each school! If your FAFSA SAI score doesn't reflect your current situation, you can request a professional judgment review.

OMG I AM IN THE EXACT SAME BOAT!!! My parents make decent money on paper but they have 3 kids in college at the same time and my SAI makes it look like they can contribute wayyy more than they actually can. I started panicking in March when I saw my aid packages. So far I've found about 15 scholarships with April/May deadlines but most are small ($500-$1500). Better than nothing I guess?? But I'm so mad at my school counselor for not telling us about this earlier!!!

i applied for scholarships in may last year and got 2 of them for this year, one was $1000 and one was $3000. not huge but definitely helped. check your schools financial aid website too cuz sometimes they have late ones that only their students can apply for. good luck

Sorry to say but your kind of out of luck for the big ones. Most of the major national scholarships had deadlines months ago. Maybe try looking into private student loans to cover the gap? That's what I ended up doing.

I was in a similar situation with my son last year. His financial aid package was way lower than we expected based on the college's net price calculator. What worked for us was calling the financial aid office directly and explaining our situation. We got an additional $5,500 in institutional aid just by having that conversation! One thing I learned: if you're having trouble getting through to the financial aid office (which is super common this time of year), try using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They helped us get through to a real person instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Definitely worth trying before giving up and taking out massive loans.

Financial aid counselor here. While many priority deadlines have passed, there's absolutely still hope for additional funding. Here's what I tell students in your position: 1. Immediately appeal your financial aid offers at all schools - especially if you have competing offers. Schools often have reserve funds set aside for appeals. 2. Local scholarships often have May-June deadlines. Check with your city's community foundation, rotary clubs, credit unions, etc. 3. Some schools have second-round institutional scholarships that open after May 1 (once they know who's actually enrolling). 4. The CSS Profile (different from FAFSA) might be required for certain institutional scholarships - check if your schools use it. Don't give up! I've seen students piece together significant funding even in summer months before enrollment.

The timing for scholarships is all over the place! I've spent the last 3 years helping my kids find them, and I've noticed patterns: - Big national scholarships ($10k+): Usually Nov-Feb deadlines - Medium scholarships ($2k-10k): Many have Jan-April deadlines - Smaller local scholarships ($500-2k): Often April-June deadlines - Industry-specific scholarships: Deadlines vary wildly There are DEFINITELY still options available now. I've had success with professional organizations related to potential majors - like if you're going into engineering, check engineering societies. Many of those have later deadlines because they're less well-known. Also, don't overlook community foundations - nearly every county has one with local scholarship programs, and they often have May deadlines!

OK so update on my situation - I just got off the phone with my top choice school and they basically said "tough luck" on additional aid. They said I should've applied for scholarships earlier and there's not much they can do now. So frustrating!! Has anyone successfully appealed their financial aid offer? What exactly did you say to make them reconsider?

Thank you all for the helpful advice! I've spent the last day researching and found 7 scholarships I'm eligible for with deadlines in the next few weeks. Also scheduled appointments with financial aid offices at my top two schools for next week. One more question - are there any red flags I should watch out for with scholarships? I've found some with really simple applications that seem too good to be true. Don't want to waste time on scams or give out too much personal info.