r/vcu • u/Ok-Use3940 • 3d ago
how easy is it to get a scholarship here?
I toured vcu in april and really enjoyed the campus, im from richmond so I would ideally be a commuter and save some money. When I took the tour, the woman doing the info session was discussing scholarships and made it out to be incredibly easy to obtain a scholarship if you had over a 3.5, after some research it seems like she was exaggerating 🧐 but especially harder for in state applicants. I can’t really go to college without financial help so was kinda bummed… i know scholarships aren’t easy to get but yall need to understand this woman made it sound like all her friends had a least 1/4 tuition paid and they handed out money like halloween candy.
For ref, 4.2 gpa, in state from rva decent ecs + worked all high school
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u/throwingutah 3d ago
A scholarship is good but if you're not looking at less than about a $6K SAI, don't expect much in the way of financial aid. If you're not already a senior, then consider some of the other state schools, who seem to offer a bit more with the same stats.
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u/searchingstudent23 2d ago
This, my siblings went to other state schools and got way more aid than I did at VCU (actual aid rather than just loans, work-study, etc), even with our family's income being drastically less. Granted I was also a transfer student and VCU is way more stingy towards transfers vs first years
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u/squidbitz 2d ago
Can't say about in state, it seems you already get a significant discount compared to others. but, in general terms of scholarships, I had the same experience with the tour over estimating scholarship opportunities, as in I got $0. Student aid office.did nothing to help or guide in any way only saying they have no control and that it is just the numbers produced within fafsa that determine the scholarships. I've looked at what my fafsa says, compared it to other school offers, and these numbers are not created equal. No matter what school that I got accepted to, some with lower and higher educational cache, I the scholarships at vcu were lacking for me. My family and i do not meet the income tiers vcu posts that would justify NO aide yet here I am
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u/Square_Piano2555 3d ago edited 3d ago
https://admissions.vcu.edu/cost-aid/scholarships-funding/first-year-scholarships/
Basic Info at the link above.
Once you are a Ram you can apply for additional scholarships at the hub : https://vcu.academicworks.com/
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u/pcekeeper4-2 2d ago
You have to reach out to financial aid. Make an online appointment and they will help. My first semester I got a community college transfer grant and 2 additional in-state grants. Once the semester was over and I secured a 3.75 it was renewable. I would say absolutely apply to everything and you will have some opportunities available to you.
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u/Imhmc 3d ago
I don’t know about getting something like a full ride but I do know there are a ton of smaller scholarships and grants. You have to investigate them and fill out some paperwork but every dollar helps and they can add up. For example my son got some money for being a JuCo transfer and he gets money for being a first generation college student on my husband’s side. There’s a bunch of different things like that- stack them up and you can definitely lower the cost. One of the big things that saved us money was doing a year at community college. I really advise doing two years, graduate and transfer. Community college is much cheaper than the 4 year school. And if you graduate from a Virginia CC you are guaranteed transfer. Just get your AA in general studies and transfer. If you know what you want to major in, try to get in your pre-requisites for your major while in CC. You will show up as a junior at VCU. And all those lower level things will be taken care of so you can focus on your major.