Virginia Financial Aid: State Grants, Scholarships and Free College Programs

Start with the FAFSA

Every program below builds on a current FAFSA on file. Virginia schools use your Student Aid Index, the number FAFSA now produces in place of the old Expected Family Contribution, to measure need for state grants alongside federal aid.

Commonwealth Award

The Commonwealth Award is Virginia's core need-based grant for residents at public colleges and universities. Under section 23.1-638 , undergraduates qualify by enrolling at least half-time and showing financial need, defined by law as the gap between your cost of attendance and your Student Aid Index. Graduate students must enroll full-time to qualify. Award amounts are not fixed by state law. Each institution sets its own amount from the state funds it receives, so two students with identical need at two different Virginia schools often receive different award sizes.

Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program (VGAP)

VGAP draws from a dedicated, nonreverting state fund created under section 23.1-637 and pays renewable grants to lower-income Virginia residents at public colleges who show strong financial need. Because the fund does not revert to the general fund each year, unused money stays available for future VGAP awards instead of disappearing into the state budget. Ask your school's financial aid office whether you are being considered for VGAP once your FAFSA is on file. It is awarded alongside the Commonwealth Award, not through a separate application.

Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG)

TAG helps Virginia residents attend an eligible private, nonprofit Virginia college or university instead of a public one. Under section 23.1-630 , the maximum annual grant is capped by law at the average state general-fund appropriation per full-time student at Virginia's public institutions the previous year, so the dollar cap moves with state funding rather than staying fixed. SCHEV publishes the confirmed amount for each award year, so check the current figure before you count on a specific number. Section 23.1-631 limits TAG to four years for undergraduate, pharmacy, or medical students, and three years for other graduate students, and the grant shrinks if you stack it with other aid that already covers your costs. You must meet the same Virginia domicile rules as any other state aid applicant.

Two-Year College Transfer Grant

This grant rewards students who start at a Virginia community college and transfer. Under section 23.1-625 , the base award is $1,000 a year, with another $1,000 a year, $2,000 total, for students majoring in engineering, math, nursing, teaching or science. Section 23.1-624 sets the eligibility bar: an associate degree from a Virginia public two-year college, a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, enrollment at a four-year school by the fall or spring right after you finish that degree, and a Student Aid Index (the statute still uses the older term EFC) of no more than $12,000. You must reapply for financial aid and hold the 3.0 GPA each year to keep the grant, which runs for up to three years.

Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP)

VMSDEP, created under section 23.1-608 , waives tuition and mandatory fees at Virginia public colleges for spouses and children, ages 16-29, of service members killed, captured, or missing in action, and for dependents of veterans the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rates as totally and permanently disabled. You qualify through the service member's Virginia domicile at the time of duty, or through five years of your own continuous presence in Virginia before you apply. Apply through the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, which coordinates the program with participating schools.

Line-of-duty survivor tuition waiver

A related benefit under section 23.1-609 waives tuition, fees, and books at public institutions for spouses and children, ages 16-25, of law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other public safety or military personnel killed in the line of duty in Virginia. Room, board, and other user fees are not covered. You must hold satisfactory academic progress to renew the waiver each year.

Free and reduced-cost community college

The Virginia Community College System runs two programs that push costs toward zero for eligible residents. FastForward pays two-thirds of tuition for short, fast workforce credentials in high-demand fields. G3 (Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back) is a last-dollar program: it covers what other aid does not for students in high-demand fields whose family income is under $100,000 a year, on top of your Commonwealth Award and any federal Pell Grant.

How state aid interacts with federal and campus aid

State grants stack on top of the federal Pell Grant rather than replace it. Your school subtracts your total aid, federal, state, and campus scholarships combined, from your cost of attendance, and none of the programs above are meant to push your total aid above that cost. Priority filing dates for state aid are set by each school, not by SCHEV, so check your target school's financial aid calendar and file the FAFSA before that date every year you are enrolled, not only as a freshman.

Applying for VMSDEP and the line-of-duty waiver

Unlike the Commonwealth Award and VGAP, VMSDEP and the line-of-duty waiver require a direct application instead of an automatic flag. Contact the Virginia Department of Veterans Services to start a VMSDEP application, and bring documentation of the service member's status, a VA disability rating letter, a casualty report, or a line-of-duty determination, along with proof you meet the domicile or five-year presence requirement. Apply before your first term where possible, since these waivers generally do not apply retroactively to a term you already paid full price for.

How the programs stack

File the FAFSA first, then check with each school's financial aid office to see which of these apply to you. Most are awarded automatically once you are flagged as an eligible Virginia resident with need, but TAG, VMSDEP and the line-of-duty waiver need a specific application on top of the FAFSA.

Keeping your award each year

Every program above requires you to keep making satisfactory academic progress, the same standard your school already applies to federal aid, and most require a new FAFSA every year rather than one filed once and forgotten. Missing a renewal FAFSA is the most common reason state aid drops off a returning student's award letter, so treat it as an annual task, not a one-time application.