UVa Financial Aid Problems

<p>My family has financial need and I was accepted into both UVa and W&M. I really want to attend UVa but I was given only a 4600 Pell Grant and 648 UVa Access Scholarship and 9000 in loans per year. Leaving my family to find 10,000 a year to pay for school when 4000 is what we were aiming for.</p>

<p>I already paid my UVa deposit, it was my absolute top choice but W&M had notified me that my financial aid package was ready. They offered me the same 4600 Pell Grant and a 11,000 VGAP grant! I would have 5500 in loans per year and 2000 in work study and school would cost my family only 1000 dollars a year!</p>

<p>I love UVa, and their business school is absolutely amazing. But my family will struggle to find that money to pay for it and I want to be a fair to my parents who still have 2 more kids to pay for. Is there any way that these VGAP loans which are not with W&M but for the state of Virginia be offered to me at UVa. </p>

<p>I have no idea why the aid packages are so different for need based aid especially since my EFC is like 00900 (that's the code) and it's very low. If you can give me any advice to make UVa possible, I would be so thankful.</p>

<p>Same here…I’m not sure how much calling their financial office would help either. >.<</p>

<p>We are definitely in contact with financial aid but we’re really hoping there was an error or they could help us access state grants.</p>

<p>I’m unfamiliar with VA Financial Aid policies, but is VGAP only for certain schools, or is it a general grant offered by the state that can be used at any VA public university?</p>

<p>If it’s the latter, it might be transferrable to other VA schools, but UVA may not have the info from the state to include it in their official offer letter? I went to UVA from PA, but my PA grant money was never included in my ‘official’ aid letter and I always got the refund mid-semester after PA sent the funds to my UVA account.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program (VGAP): Award amount is up to the amount of in-state tuition plus an allowance for books per academic year. Students must have graduated from a Virginia high school, have a cumulative high school grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, and be classified as a dependent student for federal financial aid purposes. Awards may be renewed for up to three additional years provided that students meet all of the following requirements:

  • Maintain continuous full-time enrollment
  • Maintain Virginia resident status
  • Maintain at least a 2.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale </p>

<p>uva does do them but they didn’t give any on MY financial aid statement</p>

<p>Hrm. Again, I’m not sure about the intricacies of VA Fin. Aid… I definitely think it’s worth the effort to find out though. It seems like if W&M thought you qualified for 11k, then something must be amiss for UVA to think you don’t need any, and with an EFC of 900.</p>

<p>UVA didn’t give me VGAP as well. Virginia Tech offered me like 3000 of VGAP grants, it’s stupid… I called the VGAP Grant peeps, and they said it’s different on a school-to-school basis, which is utter crap. Depending on the school, you may or may not get VA funded grants, is basically what the lady told me. It’s true, but I think it’s complete bs that they would give you money to go to one VA state school, but not another…</p>