Financial Aid Deadlines and Award Notification

Hello all,

I have a couple questions that can hopefully be answered. Is it possible to still receive financial aid if you send in your CSS Profile after the priority deadline (or deadlines in general)? My high school counselor said that I can but I’d like a few more opinions before I pay the fee for a few colleges (namely Columbia) that I didn’t originally think I would be admitted to but recently received likely letters/acceptances from. My second question: when can financial aid awards be viewed? I was recently admitted to the University of Michigan and Amherst College but neither of their financial aid profiles state any amount, and I can assure that I most definitely am eligible for financial aid.

Thanks for all the help!

I think Amherst financials will be out today with the RD decisions. Their portal has been different this morning

Did you submit the Profile to Michigan and Amherst? If not, your financial aid application is not complete at those schools.

You will need to call Columbia to find out how they deal with late applicants.

Gotta ask. Why didn’t you apply for aid if you knew you needed it?

For UMich, are you from in state or OOS? When did you submit your CSS and FAFSA. The absolute deadline for them are actually pretty late but you you may risk your chance to get some grant if you missed the deadline.

Others posts indicate the poster is instate for Michgan.

In that case, the OP should not worry too much for UMich FA if the CSS profile and FAFSA have been submitted already even after the suggested deadline. The absolute deadline is April 30.

@thumper1 I applied for aid to my top three schools (Michigan, Chicago, and Yale; I applied to a LOT of colleges) but as more are presenting themselves, I’m realizing that I should send it to more. It was mainly the $16 fee per school since I had to pay for it myself even though I received a fee waiver everywhere else. U of M does have both my FAFSA and CSS, I won’t be sending my CSS to Amherst as I don’t think I will attend even though I was accepted early (the March 20th), and Columbia said that they accept financial aid profiles without penalty after the deadline. Deadlines are just in place to make sure people get their award package with their acceptance. I appreciate the help guys!

Not necessarily. Sounds like you have been penny wise and pound foolish.

Late submission of FAFSA (even before the deadline) may cost you. Grant money from schools and states are limited. That’s why all schools encourage you to file it as soon as possible,

In addition your applying late may mean that you may not have a financial package by the may 1 deadline to commit to a school.

And if you are selected for verification where you submitted your application for aid late…this could really hold up,the process.