Scholarship timeline, i'm at the end of my rope trying to get information

[CBG321]

So my current school is horribly frustrating and has a bunch of unhelpful people working the email and phone lines.  So I can't seem to get an answer other than "look it up" (because I already tried and told you that) which really really pisses me off.  Be courteous enough to say you don't know or direct me to someone who does!

 

How far in advance can I apply to a scholarship and remain eligible?  

 

Specifically I am applying Fall 2015 and would be starting my Graduate program Fall 2016.  What I thought was an easy question has been impossible to get an answer for.  Can I apply for a bunch of scholarships this summer (2015) and be eligible if i've not yet been accepted to any programs or even applied yet?  I'm currently a post-bacc student in the field of communicative disorders/speech pathology if that helps at all. 

 

Sorry for my angry rant, i'm just so frustrated with my current school, they won't be getting an application from me in the future that's for sure!

[fuzzylogician]

Apply to what exactly? What do you mean by remain eligible? Do you mean: assuming you win the scholarship, can you have access to the funds at different schools once you are officially enrolled, more than a year from now? Different scholarships/fellowships have different guidelines in terms of when the money becomes available, what your affiliation has to be, whether you can defer the start date, etc. Your question just seems very vague, unless you are referring to a specific scholarship at your specific school and then it's just probably impossible for us to know. Guess: if you want to continue to grad school at your undergrad institution and are applying for a specific scholarship through you school, it may not be straightforward to apply that money toward your graduate school education, especially since it doesn't sound like you've been accepted yet, but if you remain affiliated with the same school throughout, there may be a way to make it work. It becomes more complicated if you want to apply for a scholarship under one affiliation but then use the money for a different purpose at another school. I would guess that doing things later rather than earlier would make it easier. But again, your question was vague so my guesses are probably even vaguer.

[CBG321]

Apply to what exactly? What do you mean by remain eligible? Do you mean: assuming you win the scholarship, can you have access to the funds at different schools once you are officially enrolled, more than a year from now? 

 

Apply to: Scholarships.  Intending to use the money for my Graduate program which would begin in Fall 2016.  Have not applied to Grad school yet.

Remain eligibilbe: Eligible meaning yes, assuming I get one the money how long is it allowed to sit around not being used...

What kind: Non-school specific or degree specific, meaning general scholarships, like I'm a certain gender or ethnicity and they allow you to apply the funds to wherever you attend. 

 

 

My question at the most general level, is how early is too early to start the scholarship application process?  I think what you were trying to convey is that yes, a year+ prior is too far in advance for most common scholarships.  I am a post-bacc student so my circumstances and timeline are a little different.  

 

I understand there is no cut and dry (ex: 3 months) answer i'm more looking for a general time frame to plan to sit down and write a ton of essays. 

 

Just a very general idea of what is the earliest I can send them in and not run into any issues with them 'expiring' so to speak.   The summer after you've been accepted?  Or send them at the same time as your Graduate application?? etc.  

 

 

TY

[fuzzylogician]

Again, that would depend on the scholarship. If there are specific ones you have in mind that you might be eligible for, read the application guidelines carefully. They will have particular application deadlines and will usually specify for example when notifications will go out and what the start date of the scholarship would be. The guidelines might tell you whether you can apply with one affiliation (pre-grad school) and change mid-way, and whether you can defer. I assume these scholarships have specific terms, e.g. they fund your tuition or provide research funding to study X, etc. so they may care about your affiliation or actually knowing that you're in school. These are questions you need to ask each individual scholarship you are applying to separately, and there is no one quick answer that applies to everything. This is probably why your school has not been helpful in replying to you--there is no way they can know the answer. 

[CBG321]

I'm going to stop by my alumni University and get some concrete answers from them!  I've looked at scholarships online extensively and they offer every detail except how long the money can sit.  I do believe you that it is a tricky question to answer, but I'm determined to find someone with knowledge on the topic that can give a general time frame.  

 

That being said thank you so much for trying to guess an answer for me!

Edited May 3, 2015 by CBG321

[fuzzylogician]

Good luck. Again I would suggest emailing the organizations who are giving away these scholarships directly. There should be some contact information somewhere on their websites and the people there would be able to give you the most up to date answers. 

[Horb]

Assume most scholarships cannot be delayed. Very few, excepting I think some NSF grants, can be delayed. Fellowships provided by Fulbright, Rhodes, DAAD, Marshall, Mitchell, etc. cannot be deferred. Usually, if a scholarship can or cannot be deferred, it will state it under FAQ. I would compose a list of scholarships you are looking at then go to the scholarship website and search the FAQ section. Your school probably won't know the details on every scholarship, especially if they lack an office dedicated to selecting and preparing students for rigorous scholarship applications (such as an Office of Scholar Development).

Edited May 5, 2015 by Horb