/ Offices/ Financial Aid/Undergraduate Students/Important Dates and Deadlines

Financial Aid Timeline

For undergraduate students applying for financial aid for the 2025-26 year, our timeline is a little different. The FAFSA won’t be available until December 2024, so we’ve adjusted the dates accordingly.

September

Relax! You have plenty of other things to think about, but if your high school is offering a FAFSA workshop, you can attend to see what’s in store for you in December.

October

October 1: The CSS Profile is open for Early Action and Early Decision students. Due to this year’s delayed FAFSA timeline, we are using the CSS Profile to provide financial aid award information to Early Decision and Early Action students who are applying for need-based aid. The CSS Profile is required for Early Decision students and recommended for Early Action students. You will still need to file the FAFSA in order to receive your official financial aid offer.

At this time, only Early Decision and Early Action students should complete the CSS Profile. Regular Decision students should file the FAFSA once it becomes available, and international students should complete the International Student Application for Financial Assistance.

Note: October 1 is usually when the FAFSA is available to file, but this year the FAFSA won’t be available until late November 2024.

November

November 1: Priority filing deadline for the CSS Profile for students applying for admission under Early Action and Early Decision.

November 25: Final filing deadline for the CSS Profile for students applying for admission under Early Action.

November 26: The new, simpler FAFSA is now open! Plan to file the FAFSA within a couple of weeks of its opening so we can get to work on your official financial aid offer.

December

Students applying for admission under Early Action and Early Decision must file their FAFSA as soon as possible.

January

Early January: We’ll begin releasing final financial aid offers for students admitted under Early Decision who filed their FAFSA as soon as the offers are prepared.

January 15: Priority filing deadline for the FAFSA for students applying for admission under Regular Decision Admissions.

February

TBD: We’ll begin releasing final financial aid offers for students admitted under Early Action who filed their FAFSA as soon as the offers are prepared.

February 1: Verification documents due for Early Action admitted students selected for verification.

February 15: Priority filing deadline for Continuing Students to submit the FAFSA.

February 15: Verification documents due for Regular Decision admitted students selected for verification.

March

March 1: Priority filing deadline for the FAFSA for students applying to Lewis & Clark as Transfer Students. If submitting a transfer admissions application after March 1, please submit the FAFSA as soon as possible after submitting the admissions application.

Mid-March: We’ll release final need-based financial aid offers for Regular Decision students at the time of admission.

March 30: Verification documents due for Continuing Students selected for verification.

March–May

We’ll release final need-based financial aid offers for Transfer students on a rolling basis (dependent on when the FAFSA was filed).

May

May 1: Incoming students wishing to enroll at Lewis & Clark must submit the enrollment deposit by May 1. See Admission Letter for further details.

June

Early June: Continuing Students who filed a valid FAFSA by February 15 and returned additional documentation by March 30 should receive a financial aid offer by June 1.

As soon as you know that you’ve received any external scholarships, let us know by following the instructions on our External Scholarships page.

July

July 1: Complete the steps necessary to secure student loan funds shown on your financial aid offer for the upcoming school year.

Mid-July: Billing statements for the fall semester will be sent to students in mid-July by the Student Accounts Department.

Mid-July: Students and/or parents who wish to sign up for a monthly payment plan through Nelnet should enroll no later than mid-July.

August

August 1: Parents wishing to borrow a Federal PLUS Loan should complete an application with the U.S. Department of Education no later than August 1.

August 1: Students wishing to borrow a private education loan should select a lender and complete an application with that lender no later than August 1.

Early August: Double-check to make sure all steps necessary to secure financial aid are completed so funding will be applied to the student account at the beginning of the fall semester.

The fall semester billing due date is in early August.

September

Early September: If you are eligible for work-study and wish to work on campus, bring the necessary original employment documents to campus in the fall. Additional information regarding student employment and what documents are required can be found on the HR Student Employment website.

October

October 1: FAFSA is available to file for next year.

November

Mid-November: Billing statements for spring semester charges are sent to students in mid-November by the Student Accounts Department.

December

Mid-December: The spring semester billing due date is mid-December.