Memo No. 007-22: New Financial Aid Opportunity: Virginia Alternative State Aid (VASA)

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is announcing a brand new process that will enhance college affordability for even more students who call Virginia their home. For the first time, Virginia students who are ineligible to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), including undocumented students and those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, now have a way to access state financial aid due to revisions to the Tuition Equity Provision for High School Completers and the creation of the Virginia Alternative State Aid (VASA) Application.

This new state financial aid application is a free and safe way for students to pursue financial assistance for postsecondary education. It supports the statewide strategic plans’ goal of making college access more equitable and affordable for all Virginia students.

Interested students should work with their college admissions and domicile officers to determine whether they meet the Commonwealth’s tuition equity or domicile requirements. Students would then complete the VASA Application so that the institution’s financial aid office can determine eligibility for state need-based aid.

The application is now available for students applying or returning to college in the 2022-2023 financial aid year. Additional information and the VASA Application can be found at Applying for Virginia State Financial Aid. Please use the web address, www.vasaapp.org, on all public-facing communications and inform your division staff and students of this new opportunity in state financial aid.

For more information

For questions related to the Tuition Equity provision or the VASA Application, please contact Lee Andes, Associate Director of Financial Aid, by email at LeeAndes@schev.edu. For questions related to K-12 college and career readiness, contact Brittany Everett, Postsecondary Access and Success Specialist, Office of Student Services, by email at Brittany.Everett@doe.virginia.gov.