I was recently accepted to UVA via early action and have been really pumped because it was pretty much my first choice. I’m a little worried, however, because I know that UVA is a public university and doesn’t have endless reserves of money to meet 100% of demonstrated need without loans. I am out of state btw. I was told by one of the Deans in an online chat about financial aid that my package is determined solely based on my financial aid application, which leads me to believe that grades and whatnot hold no bearing on how much I would receive. My family’s only source of income comes the $1k that my sister has made off of working over the past year and the couple thousand we receive from Public Assistance. I am convinced that regardless of what formula they have to determine aid, my EFC will be 0. Just about how much in loans can I expect to receive? I did their online net price calculator and it said $5k per year in loans.
Congratulations!
Yes, the Financial Aid office meets 100% demonstrated need with mix of grants (scholarships), loans, and work study. Just as we are need-blind in the admission office, the aid office is blind to our review and packages students based on the financial aid documents.They don’t practice “preferential packaging,” which would factor in the admission office’s view of the student.
Okay, so that being said, no one here (not even me) can make a statement about your aid package because we aren’t financial aid officers. If you got all of your documents in on time, you should have a package soon. Make sure to log into SIS every day to see if they need extra documents from you.
Congrats! UVa is much more generous with financial aid than most colleges.
You can find more details online, but the U. typically expects an out of state student to take out the maximum amount of federal Stafford and Perkins loans that are available, which typically is $7k or less per year. The main difficulty is that they may offer you more in work study than you can reasonably find as a first year. Some first years have trouble getting enough hours. The first years also do not often get the most popular work study jobs.
You might plan on getting a private sector job or a UVa job that might be outside of work study to replace or supplement the work study hours. There will be plenty of places hiring students in the first weeks, including places within walking distance of the U. The city bus system is also free to UVa students.
I would also plan on having a full-time job every summer to cover your personal expenses. There is no need to have a car while you attend UVa, which will save money.
https://career.virginia.edu/internships/prepare/student-employment
http://aramark.jobs/charlottesville/virginia/usa/jobs/
Aramark runs the UVa dining facilities.
The may also be some part-time jobs inside UVa’s huge health care system. The main hospital is right next to the U.
Many students work as bus drivers for the University. They provide training.
Also, be sure to get an application in on time for any college grants available from your own state. Some states allow their college grants to be used out of state, while other states do not.
My info may be a couple years out of date, so please confirm. I read that the U. will also offer students with high need a one-time grant to buy a new laptop. There is very low cost MS Office software available from the U. bookstore for students after they receive a UVa ID, so don’t spend money on that before you arrive.
Be sure to get your financial aid information submitted on time to the fafsa and to the U. That means starting the process early, because there may be some info that takes a little time to collect. Make all of the deadlines down on your calendar, with reminders at least a month in advance. The financial aid offers are dependent upon your family meeting the deadlines. Watch the UVa SIS online system to see if additional information later needs to be submitted.
Thank you for all of your responses. I submitted all of my financial aid docs a while ago, way ahead of the March 1 deadline so I suppose I will just have to wait and see. I will also be mindful of trying to snatch up a decent work study job early once I arrive on campus.
I don’t know the work study job process, but I believe the U. has an online listing of available positions. You may be able to try to apply for one of those jobs before you arrive, but keep in mind that the more interesting or easiest jobs will be grabbed by older students.
If you really need a large number of hours to make your finances work, you may be better off getting a job that is not work study. Other parents have written on this board that their first year kids had trouble getting all of the work study hours that were supposedly offered.
I have read that work study cannot be used during Christmas break or over the summer. If you want a job that can continue during these times, you may be better off with a non-work study job. You may find someone who is willing to let you crash in their apartment cheaply over Christmas break.