Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant increases for 2013-14

Marymount University

The Virginia General Assembly recently approved an increase to the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) award amount.

In 2013-14, the undergraduate VTAG award will go from the current level of $2,800 to $3,100 per year per student.  The award for graduate students in health professions programs will be increased from $1,300 to $1,550.

This is great news for Virginia residents who are full time students at eligible private colleges or universities.

In 2012-13, approximately 22,000 Virginia residents are receiving non-need based tuition grants through the VTAG program.  And these students do not have to

•  Pay VTAG back
• Demonstrate financial need
• File a financial statement

They simply needed to complete a relatively simple online application and submit the application to their institution’s financial aid office.

Established in 1972, the VTAG program is designed to assist Virginia residents who attend accredited private, nonprofit colleges and universities in Virginia for other than religious training or theological education.  The Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV) manages the program and has been enormously successful for increased funding for VTAG and other programs assisting students at independent Virginia colleges.

Neither merit- nor need-based, VTAG is a little gift from the state legislature designed to bring down tuition rates for Virginia residents electing to attend private institutions and level the playing field a little with the relatively inexpensive public system.

The 2013-14 VTAG application is now available and due by July 31, 2013.  For more information about the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant, visit the CICV website.