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

Financial Aid Timeline

Undergraduate Students

For students applying for financial aid for the 2024-25 year, our timeline is a little different. The FAFSA won’t be available until December 2023, so we’ve adjusted the dates accordingly.

September

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: Usually, this is when the FAFSA is available to file, but in 2023, the FAFSA won’t be available until December.

November

By November, we should know the date when the FAFSA will open in December, so you can mark that on your calendar and start getting ready to file your FAFSA when it’s available

December

December 31: Drumroll, please! We’ll post the date when we know it, but at some point in December the new, simpler FAFSA will be available! Plan to file the FAFSA within a couple of weeks of its opening, so we can get to work on your financial aid offer.

January

January 31: Priority filing deadline for the FAFSA for students applying for admission under Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision Admissions.

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

February

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

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

February 15: Verification documents due for Regular Decision Admissions 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.

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

May

May 1: National Candidates Reply Date. 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 notification 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 beginning October 1.

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.