Guidance Office

Financial Aid

 

Virginia Prepaid Education Program

Limited enrollment period
The Virginia Prepaid Education Program
locks in future college costs for newborns through ninth graders. Backed by a statutory guarantee from the Commonwealth of Virginia, VPEP covers in-state undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees for the normal full-time course load at Virginia's public colleges. VPEP also can be used at Virginia's private colleges, as well as at public and private universities across the country and worldwide.

 

Virginia Education Savings Trust

Open year-round
The Virginia Education Savings Trust
is open to students of all ages, wherever they live. VEST lets families save on their own timetables and budgets, and choose their annual investment mix from 16 portfolios. VEST contributions may be used for major higher education expenses, including: tuition, fees, room and board, textbooks and required supplies and equipment.

 

CollegeAmerica

Available only through financial advisers
CollegeAmerica allows families to save for college through a choice of 22 mutual funds. The program is a partnership between the Virginia College Savings Plan and the American Funds
, one of the oldest and largest mutual fund companies in the nation. More information is available from financial advisers and at www.americanfunds.com.

 

CollegeWealth

CollegeWealth is Virginia's partnership with participating banks throughout Virginia. Families may save for college through deposit accounts or certificates of deposit (CDs) that feature the tax advantages of 529 college savings plans. Accounts will be subject to the individual bank's terms, conditions, and interest rates but will be governed by Section 529 provisions - and overseen by the Virginia College Savings Plan.

 

Call toll free or visit our web site for more information:

1-888-567-0540

Www.Virginia529.com

Text Box: (FAFSA) Free Application for Federal Student Aid Distribution Update:
Students will be able to obtain a paper FAFSA by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID or by visiting www.edpubs.org.  Students may request up to three copies of the paper application and should receive their FAFSA’s in three to seven business days.
We also plan to increase our use of e-mail as a communication vehicle; please visit www.FSAPubs.org and check your account information to confirm that we have the correct e-mail address for you. 
Thank you for your continued support in moving to alternate methods of completing the FAFSA.  If you have any questions or comments about the information provided in this letter, please email us at:  FAFSA.Comments@ed.gov

 

 

MeritAid.com is your one free source for $11 billion in merit aid scholarships from thousands of colleges across the country.  Go to www.meritaid.com to find merit scholarships from colleges that fit you.

Phone:  540-825-8310                            Fax:  540-829-2150

Virginia College Savings Plan

 

Making COLLEGE FINANCIAL PLANNING Count

 

http://elearning.makingitcount.com/start/default.asp

                          

College funding strategies that really work. 

Become your own expert on paying for college.                              

Text Box: Your source for free information from the U.S. Department of Education on preparing for and funding education beyond high school.
Private loan comparison tool

The SmartStudentTM Guide
to Financial Aid

Our monthly financial aid newsletter reaches over one million students, families and financial aid professionals and provides valuable news and information on higher education issues, trends and federal regulations.

Welcome to Scholarships4School.com! The purpose of this free website is to provide students with the tools they need to make informed decisions about obtaining scholarships and other forms of financial aid.

Preparing for college is exciting but stressful. Everybody wants to go to college free, but most people don't know how. Scholarships4School.com helps answer this question. This one website gives you an overview of the scholarship process from beginning to end, starting with how to choose a college and finishing with how to keep the scholarship you earn. We'll let you know how to find scholarships by telling you who offers them, who to contact, and how to search for scholarships online. We also provide information about scholarships for specific fields of study (such as nursing and law) and give you the tools you need to learn more. We identify scholarships for women, students with disabilities, and others. Plus, we give you the basics about other funding sources, such as fellowships and student loans.

Announcing a New Way to Compare Private Student Loans

PrivateStudentLoans.com, a service of the Student Loan Network, has just launched a unique online private student loan comparison tool (www.privatestudentloans.com/compare/) to help students make informed decisions about private student loans!

Many loan comparison tools require students to submit significant personal and financial information before beginning the comparison process.

Our new tool is unique because there is no upfront registration requirement. We provide both at-a-glance and detailed information about private student loans from six different lenders, as well as the opportunity to apply online.

Our comparison tool creates transparency in the application process illuminating interest rates, fees, and repayment expectations. We hope that this tool will take the guesswork out of private student loans and help students make responsible borrowing decisions.

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