Sarah Richards|Marlin Chronicle
The Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant, commonly known as VTAG, is a program that supports Virginia residents who attend private colleges in Virginia, to the tune of about $5,000 a year. This year, it is being raised by $125 to a maximum of $5,250.
“Any student is eligible if they’ve lived in Virginia for more than a year before starting college,” Beth Koroleski, the director of Financial Aid, said.
Koroleski said that they offered VTAG to every student with a Virginia address, and about 750 students are on the program, or about half of the school. That’s a total of almost $4 million every year, just at Virginia Wesleyan.
“It’s huge,” Koroleski said. “Which is why we really try to get students to apply to it.”
The program, unlike Pell grants and other assistance programs, is not need or merit based, requiring only living in Virginia for a year before attending college. “You only really have to prove that you’re a resident,” Koroleski said.
“It’s really helpful, that’s what I know,” Reggie Weiss, a sophomore who is currently undecided, said.
Students express their appreciation for VTAG through a concerted system of letters, organized by Jason Seward, associate vice president for Campus Life and Operational Management, according to Koroleski.
Koroleski said that he is competitive and wants to be the school that sends the most letters to the government, and that Virginia Wesleyan routinely gets second only to Liberty University, which has almost 50,000 undergraduates. Virginia Wesleyan has about 1,600.
Additionally, there is a “Thanks for TAG!” day organized by Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV), which is an association of private colleges and universities in Virginia. It is on President’s Day and students go to the General Assembly to thank the Legislature for sponsoring VTAG.
Submissions for Spring VTAG are due on Dec. 15, but Koroleski said it’s worth applying late in case they approve it late anyway. She said that a number of students with Virginia addresses do not apply.
“We try to make it as easy as possible for the students,” Koroleski said, referring to the system of assistance Virginia Wesleyan offers to make school more affordable.
Generally, she said, the only thing a student needed to do was to fill out the FAFSA, and the school would determine how much need-based aid to offer based on that.
The VTAG likely gets fewer applications because it requires a paper application, Koroleski said, although they are working to change that to an online application in the future.
“It’s very nice, and I enjoy not having to pay as much money,” Sasha LaPonte, a senior studying Earth and Environmental Science, said about VTAG.
The recent increase of $125 dollars is not uncommon. VTAG is generally increased, which Koroleski attributed to the continued vocal support for it from students and universities.
“They know that the cost [of college] increases,” Koroleski said. She said that in the future she was “hoping it will go up to $6,000.”
If it continues to be raised by this amount every year, the grant will reach a maximum of $6,000 a student in 2031.
By Victoria Haneline
