Virginia private colleges strive to offer an outstanding education at an affordable price.
If you are academically qualified and a Virginia private college strongly appeals to you, don’t let the posted cost of attendance discourage you. Instead, please apply for admission and aid and you’ll soon have financial aid offers to consider before making your final decision about where to enroll.
About 70% of students at Virginia private colleges receive financial aid with an average amount of $25,000. Virginia residents attending a private, non-profit college in the state can also receive the undergraduate Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) award, which is $5,125 annually.
Affordability Initiatives
Many of our member colleges have created special programs to simplify the process, making it more transparent to know how much aid you will receive. Others have dramatically reduced their list prices. Their programs differ, but you can find links to their programs below.
PROMISE PROGRAMS
Eastern Mennonite University: Promise Grant
- Pays remaining tuition costs after all federal, state, and institutional grants have been awarded for Virginia students from families with AGI <$65K.
Ferrum College: Panther Promise
- Free tuition to on-campus resident Virginia students with a Student Aid Index (SAI)* of <$1000. *SAI is determined by the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Hollins University: HOPE Program
- Scholarship plus federal and state aid covers full cost of tuition, food, and housing for up to 100 students with family incomes <$65K (Recipients must be Pell eligible).
Mary Baldwin University: Access MBU
- Debt-free tuition for Virginia students with family incomes <$60K through a combination of federal, state, and university aid funds.
Shenandoah University
- Free tuition to Pell-eligible students with 3.8+ high school GPA.
Sweet Briar College: SBCommitment
- This initiative provides full tuition coverage to full Pell Grant-eligible students across the Commonwealth.
University of Richmond: Richmond’s Promise to Virginia
- Free tuition, fees, food, and housing for Virginia students with parental incomes <$75K.
Virginia Wesleyan University: Coastal Advantage Program
- For commuter students from families with <$60K income, tuition is reduced to $2,500 with opportunities to work on campus to earn the remainder.
- Free tuition to students from families with incomes below $150K.
TUITION RE-SETS
2024 Bridgewater College -62%
2022-23 Roanoke College -25%
2021-22 University of Lynchburg -18% and Regent University -19.3%
2020-21 Randolph College -37% and Virginia Union University -27%
2018-19 Sweet Briar College -47%
Liberty University has not raised tuition since 2018-19
Virginia Wesleyan University did not raise tuition between 2017-18 and 2024-25.
Calculating your out-of-pocket cost at any college
By federal law, all colleges and universities must have what is called a “Net Price Calculator” (NPC) available for prospective students/parents on their website. We suggest running the NPC for each institution that is of interest to you. While the NPC’s provide only preliminary estimates, they are good-faith indicators to help you go into the process with more realistic expectations about how much aid you will receive.