The deadlines that weren't

As much as I enjoy school, I loathe trying to navigate through the application process for most places. Not only is taking the GRE bad enough, but it is difficult to get your scores reported on time to where you want them, even if you order them weeks in advance of deadlines.

Particularly galling to me, though, is the backwards manner in which merit-based aid is dispensed by many schools. I was seriously considering applying to the University of British Columbia, located in Vancouver, until I found out that their deadline for merit scholarships was in September, while their deadline for applications was several months later, in mid-January. Huh?

This problem is even rearing its head now, as I apply to my final school choices. One of them is Boston University, which, like most schools, has a mid-January deadline for those wishing to be considered for merit aid. Here, I'll let them explain:

For most programs, the deadlines for admission with full consideration for all available forms of Graduate School merit-based financial aid are January 15 for Fall admission and October 15 for Spring admission. Adhering to these deadlines will ensure that you are considered for all available forms of merit-based financial aid, both University-wide and departmental. However, individual programs may have earlier deadlines.

Seems fair enough, right? Just to be sure the Arts and Sciences school didn't have earlier deadlines I checked the department and it says January 15, so that is what I counted on. But then I got to an entirely different web page and read some fine print on the actual merit based programs themselves:

Nominees are proposed by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences departments, divisions, and programs. Nominations are proposed early in the admissions application processing cycle. Applicants who wish to be considered should, therefore, submit their admission applications well before the January 15 deadline.

So, apparently I need to have my application in by the 15th to be considered for all available aid, except that the aid that is available requires that you apply well before the 15th. Here's a thought, why not just push the deadline up so people know when to apply and don't have to guess. And why in the world would you decide on who gets financial aid before they even get admitted to the school?

I've already spent a good deal of money getting transcripts and scores sent to the school, but now I have to call the school itself and see if my online application will be eligible for financial aid still. Do I spend the $70 application fee and pray I get some financial aid, or do I assume it is already gone and save the money?