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Applying for Scholarships

We encourage all students to apply for scholarships

We're happy you're considering applying for a scholarship at BYU! BYU scholarships are for current students or those applying for admission. We encourage all students to complete the online scholarship application, regardless of their circumstances. To be considered for any scholarship offered through the Financial Aid Office, complete the ‘Period’ section and first three sections (Personal, Essays, and Need).

Additional sections of the application are for more specific awards and for each you complete you will be considered.

You must apply for scholarships on or before posted deadlines, even if you have not yet been admitted to the university. Scholarship applications are reviewed after admissions decisions have been made.

To be considered for scholarships after admission, you must apply by the Continuing Student deadline each year.

To receive full consideration for all scholarships for which you may be eligible, you must complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and send it to BYU by March 22, 2024. The deadline has been extended due to ongoing issues students across the country are having with submitting the new FAFSA. The 2024-25 FAFSA was made available in December 2023.

Changes that affect scholarship applications for 2024-2025

For freshman scholarships, the Russell M. Nelson, Heritage, and National Merit scholarships require your ACT or SAT score for consideration. Make sure to send your scores to BYU. We will use the highest ACT or SAT score we receive, even if it's not the one on your admissions application.

Beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, the federal government has made significant changes to the FAFSA application. As a result, if you are considered an independent student on the FAFSA, your parent information cannot be included on the application for scholarship consideration. (In past academic years, you were required to include parent information on your FAFSA up to the age of 30, even if you were considered independent).

We will consider independent students for all applicable scholarships even though they cannot include parent information on the FAFSA. However, we will be using other need-based components available to us to determine need. Please note:

  • A FAFSA is required for any student who wants to be considered for need-based scholarships.
  • We use multiple factors available to us to award need-based scholarships to our students, so this year's FAFSA will not be the only factor that we use in our consideration.

If you are considered a dependent student on the FAFSA, your parent information will continue to be required for scholarship consideration.

Eligible Students
Fall 2024
Spring 2024
Summer 2024
Winter 2025
New FreshmanDec 15, 2023**Dec 15, 2023**Dec 15, 2023**Aug 1, 2024
FormerDec 15, 2023**Dec 15, 2023**Dec 15, 2023**Aug 1, 2024
ContinuingFeb 1, 2024**Feb 1, 2024**Feb 1, 2024**Feb 1, 2024**
Transfer*Dec 15, 2023**Dec 15, 2023**Dec 15, 2023**Aug 1, 2024

Graduate Students - Contact your department for application materials and deadlines.

*Transfer students can apply for academic scholarships as continuing students after completing at least 12 credit hours at BYU on or before the appropriate Feb. 1 application deadline.

**To receive full consideration for all scholarships for which you may be eligible, you must complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and send it to BYU by March 22, 2024.

For Departing/Returning Missionaries

Fall/winter scholarships awarded to you before you depart will be deferred for the time you are actually serving your mission, not for prior or subsequent semesters. Your scholarship will automatically be reactivated previous to the semester or term you are scheduled to re-enroll at BYU. The following information about each scholarship applies:

Freshman Scholarships-You should apply for freshman scholarships during your senior year of high school by the appropriate deadline listed above, even if you plan to leave on your mission before attending BYU.

Continuing Student Academic Scholarships-To apply as a continuing student for academic scholarships either before, during, or after your mission, you must have completed at least 12 credit hours at BYU before the February 1st deadline. If you have earned the 12 hours and have completed a mission deferment form, you will automatically be considered for an academic scholarship for the semester you return. You are not required to submit a new scholarship application while on your mission unless you want to be considered for additional scholarships.

Financial Need-Based Scholarships-You must submit the FAFSA for the upcoming year by the March 22nd deadline. You are not required to submit a new scholarship application when returning from your mission. However, if you have special circumstances, you should fill out the scholarship application by the appropriate deadline listed above and complete the essay in the Need section of the application.

BYU Scholarship Application