How Early Should You Apply for Scholarships?

If you're a high school student who has always liked school, gotten good grades, participated in a lot of extracurricular activities and looked forward to college since before you were in your teens, you’ve probably asked a hundred people how early you should apply for scholarships. And you probably got the same answer from them all.

"You need to apply early!"

But what does "early" really mean? The fact is, if you apply so early that you don’t have all your test scores yet, or a complete transcript or enough reference letters, you are not doing yourself any favors. Still, it is true in this process as it is in business that "time is money," because there is stiff competition for scholarships and you need to be doing things at the right time.

Generally speaking, you should not wait any longer than the last part of your junior year or the summer before your senior year to being your college application process. Of course, there will be a lot of applications, and of several kinds. You will be applying to various colleges and universities, for a number of different scholarships and perhaps for financial aid, as well, to cover some things not paid for in the scholarship award.

There is a lot to do, and not really that much time to do it, especially as time in your last year of high school tends to fly right by you. In the spring of your junior year, or at least at the end of the school year (beginning of summer), you should start to research scholarships online. Of course, even before this you should have found out if your parents' employers offer scholarship, too.

When you return in September for your senior year, make sure to meet with your counselor to talk about college applications and scholarships. Find out if any of the colleges you are considering require early submission of "regular decision" applications for priority consideration of either merit- or need-based scholarships. This would mean that admission and financial aid applications could very well be due during the winter to qualify for certain kinds of scholarships. And don’t forget to find out if the colleges on your list have institutional scholarship deadlines. How early you should apply will be different for different scholarships.

Through the fall (September through December) you need to assemble information on all available state and local scholarships. Since many of these programs require financial add eligibility forms, usually the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), go online to learn about the form. Then fill it out and submit it electronically, as this will save you valuable time. Of course, you then need to make sure that you submit the FAFSA to all the scholarship programs that need them.

Before the first of the year (your last January in high school), you will be meeting the various scholarship application deadlines. Stay organized, keep a file of all your paperwork, make multiple copies of transcripts and test scores - and, most importantly, have a written and/or computerized calendar to keep track of all the different submission requirements, interview times and application deadlines for scholarships. It’s not enough just to know how early you should apply for scholarships. You have to know how to do it a number of different ways, too.

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