The federal FAFSA closes June 30, 2026, for the current academic year. February and March pack the most national private scholarship deadlines. Set a reminder for every one you find — the windows are short and the consequences are permanent.
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These are the dates everyone tracking scholarships needs to know first. State, local, and private scholarship deadlines stack on top of these.
Each month has dozens to hundreds of scholarship deadlines. Below is the broad pattern, plus a few representative deadlines per month. For a complete and constantly updating list, ScholarshipsByDeadline and Sallie's scholarship search filter by close date.
Big Common App and Regular Decision deadlines (Jan 1, Jan 15). Many institutional scholarships tied to admission. Coolidge Scholarship application opens.
BigFuture Scholarships ($40K, College Board) closes February 28. Coolidge Scholarship deadline mid-month. Most national merit-based scholarships and many state-run awards close.
California Cal Grant priority March 2. Robertson Memorial Scholarship and many state-level deadlines. Browse "scholarships deadline extended March 2026" for late-cycle openings.
Robertson Memorial closes April 14. Project Yellow Light, Pretty Lightroom Presets, Joel Polsky scholarships. State universities' priority deadlines for fall 2026 enrollment.
May 1 is the most common college decision day, with many institutional scholarships tied to it. Patriots Path Scholarship closes May 1. Be Bold Scholarship and No Essay Scholarship by Sallie close May 31.
$1.7 million in scholarships have June 2026 deadlines across 273 active programs. FAFSA 2025-26 closes June 30. Most students have stopped applying — fewer applicants per scholarship.
Fall scholarship season starts. Gates Scholarship opens July. Coca-Cola Scholars opens August. Apply early for the strongest essay turnaround.
Coca-Cola Scholars closes October. Gates Scholarship closes September. National Merit semifinalist announcements. FAFSA 2027-28 opens October 1. Early Decision applications start being submitted.
Early Decision deadlines (Nov 1, Nov 15) — institutional scholarships tied to ED admission. Jack Kent Cooke Foundation closes mid-month. Hispanic Scholarship Fund opens.
Many state-level scholarships close end of year. Final cutoff for many local scholarships. Spring semester scholarship deadlines for current college students.
A typical scholarship calendar has 20+ dates scattered across all 12 months, with February and March stacked. No memory or single calendar entry survives this. The fix is to set an email reminder for every deadline as you add it to your tracker.
Reminders fire 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day before each deadline, then on the day, then follow up if you have not marked it submitted. For deadlines requiring essays or recommendation letters, add an earlier 4-6 week reminder so you have time to prepare.
For more on the cadence and working backward from each deadline, see how to remember scholarship deadlines. For the parent guide, see the scholarship application reminder pillar. If you already missed a deadline, see missed a scholarship deadline.
The federal FAFSA deadline for the 2026-2027 academic year is June 30, 2027, at 11:59 PM Central Time. The form opens October 1, 2025. Most states and schools have their own earlier priority deadlines — California is March 2, 2026, for example. File as soon after October 1 as possible to maximize aid.
June 30, 2026, by 11:59 PM Central Time, for the federal FAFSA. State and school priority deadlines vary and are usually earlier. If you are still applying for the current academic year, file the 2025-2026 FAFSA before June 30, 2026.
February and March have the highest concentration of national scholarship deadlines. The full fall scholarship season runs August through December for awards directed to the following academic year. Spring (February-April) is the largest single window. Summer (May-August) has fewer national deadlines but more local and rolling scholarships.
Most scholarships for fall 2026 entry open between August 2025 and January 2026. Coca-Cola Scholars opens August. Gates Scholarship opens September. National Merit announces semifinalists in September. The College Board's BigFuture Scholarships have rolling monthly drawings starting June 2025. Set reminders for each as soon as you find them.
Yes. Some scholarships extend deadlines when applications are low. Sites like ScholarshipsByDeadline list scholarships closing each upcoming month — June 2026 alone has 273 active scholarships totaling $1.7 million. Search "scholarship deadline extended [month] 2026" for the latest extensions.
The Common App itself is not a scholarship platform, but most colleges accepting the Common App have institutional scholarships tied to admission deadlines. Early Decision is usually November 1 or 15, Regular Decision is January 1 or 15. For the 2026-2027 cycle, file your Common App by January 15, 2027, at the latest, and the FAFSA before October 1, 2025.
February and March are 8-9 months out. The reminder you set today is the reason you submit on time. Free, no account, follow-ups until you submit.
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