Come to our Paying for College Night Wednesday, October 5th 6:30-7:30pm to learn all about the FAFSA and scholarships!

Scholarships are a great way to fund your college education! However, it is a very confusing landscape to navigate. Below is a basic breakdown of scholarships, and at the very bottom I will have a regularly updating list of scholarships that I hear about which may interest you. 

National Scholarships: These nationwide competitions see thousands of students enter to win a few cash prizes. Deadlines are typically in early fall (September - December). The best way to find these is by creating accounts on legitimate scholarship websites. Here are a few of my favorites: 

goingmerry.com   -  bold.org - accessscholarships.com - chegg.com - https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/bigfuture-scholarships

Institutional Scholarships: These are scholarships sponsored by the schools you are apply to. These fall into two categories: Need-Based and Merit-Based. 

Need-Based - These schools commit to meeting 100% of Demonstrated Financial Need, which is the difference between your Expected Family Contribution (given by the FAFSA) and the Cost of Attendance. Those are the big, official words. Basically, what happens is the school will receive your FAFSA and determine how much they think your family should be able to pay for college each year. Then, they will give you the rest of the money to cover Tuition, Fees, Room & Board, Books, Transportation, etc.  I highly recommend that every A/B student concerned about paying for college apply to a couple of need-based schools. The prominent ones in Virginia include UVA, William & Mary, Washington & Lee, and University of Richmond. Follow this link to see a list of schools that meet full need with and without loans: 

Merit-Based - Most schools offer only merit-based scholarships. Many of them will automatically consider you for these scholarship as long as you apply by priority deadline, so be sure to check the admissions website and apply on time! There are also usually between 2-5 other institutional scholarships that you can apply separately for, though they sometimes have requirements like participating in a service program or an honors college. Talk to the admissions representatives about this! Additionally, most schools have scholarships you can only apply to after completing a year of coursework or declaring a major, so check back in after you are on campus, too!

Local Scholarships: These are scholarships that, statistically, you have the highest probability of receiving simply because they are only offered and awarded to students from William Monroe, Greene County, or the Central Virginia / Shenandoah Regions. They typically have smaller reward amounts than national scholarships, but they can add up quick if your receive multiple. These also tend to have much later deadlines, from January through April. Check back later for more updates about our local scholarship connections, and ask your churches, parents' employers, or civic groups if they have any scholarship opportunities.  Check the Band for all local scholarships! https://band.us/band/88467101

Virginia State Grants: Virginia has several options for receiving additional need-based aid.
Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant - $4000 to attend a private school in Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth Award -  varying amounts to attend public schools in Virginia
Virginia 2 Year Transfer Grant - apply when transferring from a community college to a 4 year college with a minimum GPA of 3.0
Virginia Military Survivors & Dependents Grant - be a  dependent of a service member who suffered death or disability, attending a public Virginia college
Virginia Alternative State Aid - Aid program created for undocumented students who may not be eligible for FAFSA and Federal Loans, attending any Virginia college

Federal Grants and Loans: Determined through the FAFSA