Hi @Mmercsabr – I suggest talking with VCU’s financial aid office for options. You may also find some good advice on the Financial Aid forum here.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/
We originally got the VA scholarship of $5k per year and today got Dean’s scholarship of $8k per year that replaces the previous one.
Are aid letters sent via email, snail or portal? What qualifies student for Dean scholarship? @Bizdock @OrangeFish
@my2greatkids we go them in snail mail. No separate application is needed.
@OrangeFish
Hi did you check the financial aid award for this year the cost of attending is so crazy is almost $35 thousand
Thanks for the heads up, @Mercsabr – cost of attendance for my D19’s program is $36,062. OUCH.
Have you seen those costs broken out anywhere?
So I did some digging @Mercsabr – looks like VCU includes the cost of a one-time computer purchase in the Cost of Attendance. That’s the likely major difference between what is shown on https://finaid.vcu.edu/apply/cost/ and what shows up when you log in to eServices.
Scroll down on that page to read more about the Student Computer Initiative.
@OrangeFish
What if I will bring my computer?
Also, I check my eserivce it doesn’t mention anything about the Student Computer Initiative.
@Mercsabr – according to the webpage I linked, you should be ok if you bring a computer. Just check the required specs to make sure your computer meets them.
I emailed the Financial Aid office to ask for a breakout of the Cost of Attendance number shown in eService. I have not heard back yet. You may want to contact them directly to ask.
@OrangeFish
What is your the Net cost?
@Mercsabr – Cost of Attendance = $36,062.00
The only award displaying is the $5,500 unsubsidized loan.
@OrangeFish
That’s too much
Thank you @OrangeFish you’ve been extremely helpful in this thread. Awaiting our financial aid package, but knew nothing about the computer initiative.
With the computer allowance, does the school purchase for the students?
@my2greatkids – it looks to me as though the student makes the purchase and not the school. Including the computer cost in the Cost of Attendance allows a student to use financial aid/scholarship money to cover the cost of the purchase.
Clicking through the links starting at https://sci.vcu.edu/ shows a purchase option through RamTech but purchasing through them is not required.
@Mercsabr (and @my2greatkids) – I heard back from Financial Aid.
The Cost of Attendance figure which can be seen after login to eService represents the sum of both direct costs (what is paid to VCU) and a budget for indirect costs (books, supplies, transportation, etc.). These are the specifics for my D19’s VCUarts program (theatre major) – sorry for the formatting:
tuition 12,094.00
fees 2,396.00
major fee 2,000.00
room & board 11,506.00
total paid to VCU (direct costs): $27,996.00
indirect costs:
books 1,140.00
supplies 720.00
computer allowance 2,360.00
personal & miscellaneous 1,500.00
transportation 2,174.00
loan fees 172.00
total indirect costs: $8,066.00
direct + indirect = budget $36,062.00
The Financial Aid office folks are wonderful and I’m sure if you emailed them about your specific situation they could provide these details for your major.
Thanks for the info, but is this for VCU Arts only or all of undergraduate attendance?
@fairfaxgator – this is for undergrad at VCU, in-state. The only “VCUarts specific” part is the major fee of $2000.
thanks OrangeFish! But wow…VCU is $8k-9k more than VA Tech in-state. I realize indirect costs are just estimates and can fluctuate, but the total is much higher than I had initially anticipated.
@OrangeFish
what is your net cost?