VCU news

By VCU News staff

After much anticipation, students and families are receiving college financial aid offers, with universities  having adjusted decision deadlines for applicants. For VCU, this new deadline to say “YES” and “Commit” to VCU is  May 15. VCU News caught up with Norm Bedford, associate vice president for student financial services, to help students and families understand and navigate their next steps.

Now that VCU has begun issuing financial aid packages, what should students and families do next to ensure their spot for the fall semester?

For students to secure their spots for the fall semester, they should accept admission and pay the tuition deposit on eServices. Students should visit eServices to review financial aid awards as well as federal and State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) mandatory consumer information. Students should follow the directions below to access their award pages.

• Log in to eServices account
• Select the Financial Aid tab
• Select the Financial Aid Dashboard option
• Select the 2024-2025 Award Year from the dropdown menu
• Under the Home tab, review and answer any required questions
• Select the Award Offer tab
• Review your financial aid awards
• Select the Take Action button to Accept, Decline or Modify any offered aid, such as a loan or work-study
• Select Submit at the bottom of the page when finished to apply your responses

What is the “COA” that was provided with financial aid packages?

When students receive their packages, we encourage them to have thoughtful discussions with their families about the types and amounts of financial aid being offered in relation to their actual expenses. All students are provided with an estimated costs of attendance (COA) within their financial aid award notices. The COA is great information to have and should provide an overall sense of possible expenses that could be incurred. Of course, each family and each student is different in terms of actual expenses. The COA is not an absolute number – rather, it is a guide. If students have questions or would like to explore ways of reducing the cost of attendance, they can make an appointment with a financial counselor through the VCU Student Financial Management Center.

What should students and families do if they have been notified to make a correction to their 2024-2025 FAFSA?

If the Department of Education or VCU has notified the student that a correction was required to their FAFSA, I recommend they make that correction as quickly as possible. We want to provide our students with an accurate financial aid package. In some instances, a student may have been informed they had a rejected FAFSA because they forgot to sign their FAFSA electronically. A rejected FAFSA would prevent a financial aid award package from being sent to a student. Therefore, we would want that student to correct their FAFSA as quickly as possible for financial aid consideration. To make corrections, students should follow the instructions provided in the notification they received.

What should someone do if they haven’t received their financial aid package?

Let’s break this down between two groups of students:

For new freshmen and transfer students:

VCU recently released financial aid award packages to new freshmen and transfer students on April 30. It is possible that a new student completed their FAFSA a few days before April 30 and was likely not packaged with financial aid. We would certainly consider that student in our next round of financial aid packaging.

There could be a variety of other reasons why a new freshman or transfer student was not yet packaged with financial aid. Examples include:

• A FAFSA was completed but the student did not list VCU to receive the FAFSA results.
• The FAFSA was rejected by the Department of Education because there was an error within the application process.

Each new freshman and transfer student is assigned an eServices account. If the FAFSA was received at VCU, there tends to be helpful information within eServices to help provide some guidance. Financial counselors within the VCU Student Financial Management Center are also available to lend assistance.

For currently enrolled students:

We have not started financial aid award packaging yet for our currently enrolled students. VCU historically has offered financial aid award packages to enrolled students by the end of June.

Is there still time to complete the 2024-25 FAFSA?

Yes! I would encourage any new or currently enrolled VCU student to complete the FAFSA if they have not done so. Classes begin Aug. 20, 2024.

What is the best way for students and families to contact the VCU Student Financial Management Center?

The 24/7 call center is available at 804-828-1550. Virtual drops-ins are available Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m.

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