<p>I submitted everything I needed to around March 1st. When I opened SIS on April 6th, I found something new; however, that something new was not my financial aid package, but rather three additions to my “To Do List” before getting my package.</p>
<p>1) I’m not happy that they just now notified me that they wanted extra information.</p>
<p>2) The office says that my package will not be ready by May 1st. I cannot decide whether or not to attend UVa if my aid package isn’t ready as there is no way I can pay for it unless I get a lot of aid. So unfortunately that means I will probably have to count UVa out. :(</p>
<p>Angel, same thing happened to me. After sending my forms and such, they asked for another form after, and it never got processed until March 22nd. I probably won’t find out either, but luckily I am instate… I just look at the financial aid that Virginia Tech and expect something similar from UVA. Hopefully I receive it before May 1st, but who knows? If you are OOS, maybe you should look at financial aid packages you received for other top-tier colleges. If the tuition they ask for is similar to UVA’s, the aid UVA will give won’t be far off from the other packages you have received. If the aid packages you have received from other OOS colleges are bearable, but almost unbearable, I personally would suggest not taking the risk of UVA. I don’t know, it just seems like a super risky thing to do if the other packages you receive are barely enough for you. Another thing you can do is maybe call and ask what you should expect for your aid package at UVA. I’m not sure what they will tell you, but it’s worth a shot.</p>
<p>@FallenAngel --Our packages from VA Schools (UVA, W&M, W&L, VCU) are all within about $1500. The out of state ones are somewhat higher, but similar to one another.</p>
<p>Wait… so if you don’t make a decision by may 1st since you have no financial aid package yet what happens? Will all my schools just count me out?</p>
<p>oldUVAgrad, I’m not surprised that UVa, William and Mary, and VCU would be similar but surprised that Washington and Lee would be, which although also in Virginia, is private. I would have thought it would be similar to other private, instate or out of state, that would potentially take other financial issues into account, offer merit aid,etc. That is interesting. Good luck with the decision!</p>
<p>sevmom, Washington and Lee offered my son a fantastic package:)! It would be cheaper (by at least $1500) for him to attend W&L than UVA or W&M. It surprised us too. It will be a tough decision.</p>
<p>Those are 3 great schools to choose from, different sizes and atmospheres for sure but sounds like they’re working out to be pretty similar in price. Tough decision indeed. Good luck!</p>
<p>Ugh, turns out one of my forms has an irregularity in it… They sent me a form, asking for me to send another form with this explaining the anomaly. Do you guys know if I can just go to the Financial aid office at UVA on Monday? It’ll be quicker.</p>
<p>I have nothing tin the “To-do’s”. Every required form is completed. My letter of acceptance told me my package would be ready a week after that date. I still have no FA package. Is this normal? I have my FA from every other school I was accepted into. It’s hard to make a decision without UVa’s information.</p>
<p>truzzi182,
Definitely call the financial aid office. They will look up your account and I suspect can give you some information - such as if its done and will be ready tomorrow night - or if something is missing. Unfortunately for us, we had all our info in long before the March 1 deadline, confirmed this with UVA FA and they STILL took what seemed like forever to send the FA pkg - too late to visit over her springbreak. So after visiting her other top choices with FA pkg in hand, I watched her emotionally move on to the schools she KNEW we could afford…Yesterday out of the blue she mentioned “did you know UVA is a 7 hr drive?” - so at least she’s back thinking about UVA but she says its too far to visit - she can’t miss class with AP exams coming up.</p>
<p>One thing in our UVA pkg compared to other privates schools is UVA included $9000 worth of student loans. But overall the total FA was in line with her other top choices - it just included more loans than all her private schools. </p>
<p>One thing to consider. If you get the choice down to UVA vs one other school, you could call both and ask for an extension on the May 1 decision deadline due to a FA holdup. Some schools will grant a decision extension (maybe 2 weeks?). You won’t know unless you ask. If they say yes, ask them to send that extension agreement to you in an email so you have it in writing.</p>
<p>@Dean J - Yes, I did call the financial aid office before I made my last post, and they explicitly told me they would not have the aid package ready before May 1st.</p>