Scholarship Universe extends application deadline

The Central Michigan University Seal is displayed outside Warriner Hall, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (CMLife | Ali

After one year of the program launching, Scholarship Universe extended the application deadline by a month to give students more time to apply for scholarships.

The director of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, Sarah Kasabian-Larson, said current students now have until Dec. 21 to apply. Last year, applications closed on Nov. 30. 

“We saw a lot of students apply over Thanksgiving break last year and over that weekend, and we understand it’s very hard [to apply] right around now and we don’t want to add more stress,” Kasabian-Larson said. “We want to make sure that you (students) have more time for applications.” 

Scholarship Universe was launched on Oct. 1 in 2025 to create a more transparent application process by having all departmental and annual endowed scholarships in one place. The scholarships students apply to are for the following academic year.

Kasabian-Larson said the program received 9,300 applications in its first year. Over 1,000 students got an award.

Based on feedback they received from different departments, she said students and faculty were having trouble navigating the platform and getting answers to questions they had about it.

In response to that, OFAS made the Scholarship Universe Assistance page. The page includes answers to frequently asked questions, videos and written instructions on how to navigate and use the platform and a timeline of the application process. 

Kasabian-Larson said OFAS accomplished its goal of making scholarships more accessible, but it’s still trying to increase awareness of the platform.  

People can learn more about Scholarship Universe and give personal feedback on it at the Scholarship Fair on Nov. 5 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the University Center Rotunda.

“I have full faith that with these improvements we’re making, we can increase those [application] numbers and better help our students through it (Scholarship Universe),” Kasabian-Larson said.