Deadlines

The College uses deadlines for a number of reasons. Deadlines are primarily used to assist students in maximizing their funding by helping them to meet eligibility guidelines for state, federal and other external financial aid programs. Deadlines are also used to allow the College sufficient time to process students' financial aid applications to allow them to plan for their enrollment. In addition, the College must adhere to deadlines that are imposed upon it by the state, federal, and other agencies that provide funding to students.

Financial aid applicants are subject to several types of deadlines and should understand the consequences of failure to submit information in a timely manner. In general, students who miss financial aid deadlines may be ineligible for funds that they would have otherwise received. The primary financial aid deadlines are listed below:

• March 1 – Priority processing deadline. Students should submit their FAFSAs by March 1 (preceding the award year) in order to maximize their eligibility for funds from all financial aid programs. Students who submit their FAFSAs after March 1 will be awarded financial aid on a funds-available basis.
• March 31 – Scholarship deadline. Each year the College offers a number of donor scholarships. Application information and procedures are posted on the College's website. Most scholarships require that the student submit an essay along with an application for consideration.
• First day of the fall, spring and summer semesters. In order to begin attending classes, students should have completed their FAFSAs and submitted all required documents. Students who do not complete their financial aid files by the first day of the semester are required to pay their account balances from their own resources.
• Last day of enrollment. Students who fail to complete their financial aid files by submitting all required documents and information by their last day of enrollment during the academic year are ineligible for unprocessed financial aid. Students who delay the submission of financial aid information and documents until the final days of the semester may be ineligible because there is insufficient time to process their files.

Students who wish to be considered for assistance from the College's financial aid programs are encouraged to apply early and to submit all requested information and documents promptly.