Decisions are in: the eight members of the Class of 2026 were accepted to 34 universities, earning over $810,000 in merit scholarships. From in-state schools like UVA, JMU and Tech to out-of-state options like Auburn, Bucknell, and Clemson, students had a strong admissions year. I have noticed three main factors guiding decisions about where our students end up attending: family, faith, and financial value. Many Regents students stay within driving distance of home, about 30% choose Christian colleges, and financial fit is often one of the deciding factors.

• Division I (most competitive): Only half of DI athletes receive any athletic scholarship, which averages about $15,000. If your child has this type of athletic talent, they will be among the best players in the leagues they play in, in multiple sports, starting at a young age.
• Division II: There are only 5 DII schools in Virginia (e.g., Virginia State University, Norfolk State, Ferrum College) which offer small, partial scholarships ($5,000–$8,000), making DII scholarships both rare and a weak value for attending a school your student might not have otherwise considered.
• Division III: No athletic scholarships are offered.

• Most scholarships are offered by colleges themselves during the admissions process, either as merit aid or need-based aid.
• Private colleges offer more merit scholarships than public colleges (but their sticker price is also higher).
• Less selective colleges offer more merit scholarships - a “reach” school will be less likely to offer your student merit aid than a “likely” school on their college list.
• Honors colleges within larger universities often offer academic scholarships; out of state public colleges often offer the in-state tuition rate to highly capable students.
• It is very difficult to get large national scholarships; more realistic options are local or regional scholarships which tend to be targeted to specific niches (i.e. if you work at Chick-fil-A, you can apply for a Chick-fil-A employee scholarship).

• Merit Scholarships - Encourage your student to take hard classes, do well in school and invest in interesting and meaningful extracurricular activities, especially community service. This will qualify them for merit scholarships from the schools they apply to. Consider a range of schools, including less selective ones that will offer more merit aid and often have a lower starting price.
• Liberty Valedictorian/Salutatorian Scholarship - The two students in each Regents class with the highest GPAs after junior year qualify for a full-tuition scholarship for Liberty if they get over a 1350 on the SAT (29 on ACT).
• Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant - $5,250 is available for every Virginia student every year who attends a private Virginia college.
• Liberty Private School Scholarship - Every four-year high school graduate at Regents gets 50% off Liberty’s tuition. This is not stackable with other types of Liberty scholarships but can stack with the VTAG grant.
• PVCC costs $6,700 a year for a full-time course load without financial aid. Two years at PVCC then transferring to a four-year college is a very cost-effective college option.
• Emily Couric Leadership Forum - One senior girl from Regents each year will receive this external scholarship currently valued at $18,000 based on how she has served and invested in the Charlottesville community.
• Net Price Calculator - Look up how much various colleges will cost your family. Every college by law has a Net Price Calculator to calculate how much you will pay. These are usually accurate to within $1,000-$2,000 if you use tax-return information.
• Residential Advising - Consider having your student become a residential advisor in a dorm as an upperclassman which typically pays for room and board.