•                            College Application Timeline

     

     

     

     

    $$$$$$$$$$$$$

                                                        for college

    Where to start…

    1. First apply to any IN-STATE university you are interested in. Applications open in July before your senior year.

    NAU (free), ASU ($50), UArizona ($50), GCU (free)

    *fee waivers are built into the applications if you qualify

    These in-state applications take 20-30 minutes and do not require essays.

     

    1. Next make a list of DREAM schools and prioritize applications based on deadlines including Early Action and Early Decision. Consider Common App vs. school app. Start applying! Niche.com is a great research tool. No more than 15 schools.

     

    1. Research needs based and competitive scholarships. Dorrance, Horatio Alger, Questbridge, Flinn, Coca Cola Scholars, Toyota, Dell Scholars, Gates Millennium, National Merit, as many of these have early deadlines in the FALL of your SENIOR year.

     

    1. Complete the FAFSA (Opens Dec/23) Everyone, whether you are applying to college or trade school.

                Create an FSA ID (studentaid.gov)

    Request your FAFSA be sent to the schools you are interested in (up to 10)

    Eligibility is based on YOUR citizenship status, NOT your parents.

     

    ***** APPLY TO COLLEGE AND FAFSA BEFORE WINTER BREAK *****

     

    1. Chandler Education Foundation Scholarships (chandleredfoundation.org)

    In November, these opportunities open to Chandler students. They are small $500-$2000 scholarships, but you can earn multiple.

     

    1. Apply to scholarships available to accepted students at the College you chose.

    These are found in your student portal (ASU=myasu, UofA=scholarship universe, NAU=MyLouie, etc.) All schools have their own version of a portal. Once you have access to this portal, pretty much everything is done through it including scholarships, scheduling, housing, registration, etc.

     

    1. Apply to LOCAL Scholarships

    Where do you bank? What clubs, organizations, employers are you affiliated with? Think local and google it. https://www.azfoundation.org/scholarship-seekers/ is also a local link to try. It is one application for dozens of opportunities.

     

    1. College and Career CHS Website Page and Google Classroom (333est2)

    A Scholarship database put together by all of the CUSD Career Techs is posted on both pages and many scholarships are posted on the Google Classroom page as reminders, so make sure you join.

     

    1. Lastly, you can search national databases on the other side of this sheet. Use filter options to narrow down best fit opportunities for you. I prefer goingmerry.com and scholarships.com . Going Merry will help you with timelines and keep all of your information in one place.