Scholarship FAQs

Why do alumni chapters provide scholarships?

Alumni chapters provide scholarships as one of many ways of demonstrating our motto Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). Scholarships are a way to give back to local students attending Virginia Tech with the added benefit of building a stronger community and Hokie Nation. Most, but not all, chapters have funds with Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc. ("VT Foundation or VTF").

Each year, the chapter raises funds through events, Giving Day, Giving Tuesday, and other charitable giving efforts to award at least one student from their local area. The chapter scholarship chair and/or scholarship committee works with their liaison to administer applications, review submissions, and award to qualified students following Policy 3400 established by Virginia Tech.

What is Policy 3400?

Policy 3400 provides “guidelines to the greater university for the awarding and administering of privately-funded scholarships or other financial resources held by Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc. ("VT Foundation") and awarded to Virginia Tech students. The greater university includes colleges, departments, and other units organized in senior management areas and hereinafter referred to as "Units." VT Foundation is dedicated to assisting the university in the building of the endowment and in addressing, through financial support, the long-term academic and other priorities of the university.”

What is the timeline for the alumni chapter scholarship cycle?

As of 2023, alumni chapter scholarships, along with other Virginia Tech Foundation-funded scholarships, will award incoming students in alignment with enrollment management timelines. The deadline to choose scholarship award winners and report them to a chapter liaison is Feb. 1. Here's a look at the new timeline for chapter scholarships:

Sept. 1: Scholarship Central applications open to Virginia Tech applicants.
Nov. 1-Jan. 15: Chapters submit review group members and required forms.
Feb. 1: Scholarship Central student application deadline.
Feb. 2-March 1: Review groups evaluate and submit awardees.
Mid-April: Financial aid packages issued to students.
May 1: Student admissions deadline.

We want to avoid following the timeline outlined. Can we award scholarships on a different timeline?

All Virginia Tech Foundation scholarship funds are administered according to Policy 3400, including the timeline indicated for prospective students. Contact your liaison if you have questions about awarding current undergraduate or graduate students, as their timelines may differ.

Chapters are welcome to award scholarships from local bank accounts if they choose. Scholarships given from local funds are considered outside scholarships. The Advancement Regional Engagement program will not administer such scholarships. Students will be required to complete outside scholarship reports for the award.

Chapters will be responsible for appropriately distributing checks on behalf of the student. Please note that any scholarship awarded outside the scholarship timeline may affect the federal and state aid that incoming or current students receive, regardless of whether the awards are through Virginia Tech Foundation funds or outside scholarships.

Additionally, all Virginia Tech Foundation scholarship funds must comply with Policy 3400. If a chapter chooses not to award the foundation funds, the Chapter and Regional Engagement program will work with Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid to ensure appropriate utilization compliance for each Virginia Tech Foundation fund account per the intended purpose of the scholarship.

Why must alumni chapter scholarship awardees be chosen before incoming students have received and/or accepted admission to Virginia Tech?

Policy 3400 states, "To benefit students and maximize utilization, all awards should be included as part of a student's initial annual financial aid award package."

For incoming students, those packages are a part of their offer for admission, pending any federal government delays in FAFSA. In the case of a FAFSA delay, students will be sent their award package before the decision deadline.

The financial aid package will list each portion of the aid provided, including the specific alumni chapter scholarship, so the student has a transparent and accurate understanding of their financial assistance to make the best decision for them. Including all private scholarships and federal and state aid increase yield and overall retention of students through graduation.

What happens if a scholarship award recipient does not accept admission, withdraws, or resigns?

We recommend that alumni chapters send in a list of awardees with backup choices when sharing their recipient choice with their liaison by March 1.

For example, suppose the chapter is awarding one scholarship. In that case, they should indicate their first or top candidate and rank one or more additional candidates should the first student not accept. Sharing the backup recipients in advance will allow the chapter liaison to quickly move forward in awarding and notifying another student according to Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid guidelines promptly. We will share changes with the alumni chapter following the student notification.

In regards to backup selections, please note the following:

Backup selections are awarded with the same scholarship amount as the applicant they are replacing.
Further, scholarship awards that are in-process will not be adjusted. In the event that a recipient does not accept admission or is otherwise ineligible, no other changes can/will be made other than replacing recipient for the award.
A chapter liaison will assist in the event that there are no backup applicants to award.
If students withdraw or resign for any portion of the award period, Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid will inform the liaison. The liaison will work with the chapter to determine next steps in accordance with Policy 3400.

How much should an alumni chapter raise or give in scholarship funds?

It depends. Alumni chapters that benefit from an endowment account can expect to receive a consistent source of funding year to year and should plan to spend according to the fund agreement. If the fund agreement or endowment’s responsible party does not indicate the amount to pay, the chapter should plan to utilize the funds in compliance with Policy 3400.

For all other accounts, we recommend that the chapter set a goal as part of its annual plan and work on fundraising toward that goal. Regardless of the amount raised, all funds in a Virginia Tech Foundation fund should follow Policy 3400 utilization expectations. Alumni chapters are welcome to send deposits for additional funds above their current foundation balance if they choose.

If your chapter is unsure which account type the alumni chapter has, please get in touch with your chapter liaison for further assistance. If a chapter is interested in sending in additional funds for scholarship awards, they should also contact their liaison.

Policy 3400 states that "every effort will be made to maximize the utilization of scholarships/awards to 100 percent of the available funding. Available funding is defined as the sum of the prior year's unspent cash balance plus yearly income as reported by VT Foundation no later than March 1 each year. Units utilizing less than 95 percent of available funding in a prior fiscal year shall provide a written plan to the Director of University Scholarships identifying strategies for full utilization by September 1 of each year". The Chapter and Regional Engagement team will submit this document for all chapters based on individual chapter conversations.

I’m on the scholarship committee. How do I access Scholarship Central? When can I begin reviewing scholarship applications?

The scholarship committee chair (or other chapter leader) will submit the names and email addresses of the scholarship committee to a liaison. A liaison will set up the review group in Scholarship Central for the new award cycle. Review group members will receive an email with instructions from a liaison to access Scholarship Central. New users must wait until the review groups are ready to sign in. Returning users may be able to access Scholarship Central and see past review groups.

Access to review applications for the current review cycle will not be available until Feb. 2. Review groups will be assigned reviews based on the scholarship chair’s (or other chapter leader’s) discretion. For example, all users might review all scholarships or only see a portion of the scholarships available for review. Remember, your access begins before the deadline for submissions. The number of applications you see available to review could change through February.

I’m on the scholarship committee. Should I use the ranking or scoring system in Scholarship Central when reviewing applications?

We recommend that all users submit their ranking or scoring through Scholarship Central, regardless of whether they will discuss decisions. Individual rankings or scorings build a composite score for each student and serve as a reference for any future audits or questions that may arise. Should there need to be a replacement awardee for any students who do not accept admission, resign, withdraw, or are otherwise ineligible, the scoring system will serve as the guiding mechanism to award other eligible students in compliance with Policy 3400.

A scholarship chair may encourage a discussion around award decisions as they see fit. We recommend that the scholarship chair (or another chapter leader) give clear instructions to the committee on how decisions should be weighted. The chair will work with their liaison to set up the rubric before the review period.

Who should I contact if I’m having issues with Scholarship Central?

Contact your chapter liaison first. Explain the situation and provide any screenshots or error messages that you are receiving. A liaison will work with you to get this corrected and bring in additional assistance as needed.

The scholarship committee has submitted the scholarship award decisions. How do we know who received the award? Can we contact them?

Scholarship awards are part of a student's financial aid package. They will receive the financial aid package either with their admission offer or shortly after. Students will have until May 1 to accept their offer.

Chapter liaisons will receive a list of accepted students around mid-May. Liaisons will pass along the names of the awardees to the scholarship chair (or another chapter leader). Liaisons will contact students who have accepted their offer of admission, introduce the scholarship chair (or another chapter leader), and share any event invitations (ex., Student Send-Offs, summer picnics, etc.) that might benefit the student to participate.

If the original scholarship award recipients and/or back-up award recipients did not accept admissions, a liaison will reach out with next steps.

We don’t see any applicants from our chapter area – how can we award a scholarship?

As part of Virginia Tech's land grant mission (and Policy 3400), the university must make every effort to award eligible students with Virginia Tech Foundation funds. Scholarship awards must comply with the fund agreement. In the case of alumni chapters, all fund agreements outline that scholarship awards go to students who attend a high school (first-year students) or have an address (current students) within the chapter area in alignment with admissions.

If applicants are available but aren't in the chapter area, check with your liaison to confirm. Note:

Any first-year student attending a high school within those boundaries can apply for the scholarship regardless of where their home address is for consistency across the university.
Current students will have an address listed in the chapter boundaries. Zip codes match in-state chapter applications in Scholarship Central. Chapters that cross Virginia and another state or are 100 percent out-of-state will include all applicant submissions from the chapter area state(s) in Scholarship Central. Your liaison will work with you to filter those as necessary.
In the case that the applications received do not qualify (i.e., not in the chapter area, didn't accept admissions, withdrew, not an incoming student, etc.), the liaison will work with the chapter and USFA to identify students that may otherwise be eligible but didn't apply to comply with Policy 3400. An application cannot serve as a barrier to awarding scholarships.
Unless no students from the chapter area attend Virginia Tech, chapters must make every effort to award available funds from their Virginia Tech Foundation account. A liaison or USFA staff member will otherwise decide to ensure compliance with Policy 3400.

We would like to ensure that only students with a minimum GPA (or another qualifying factor) receive the award – how can we guarantee that?

Awards must be administered or awarded according to the fund agreement. Chapter fund agreements are based solely on the applicant's high school (incoming students) or address (current students).

Any qualifiers outside of the fund agreement are arbitrary and can only be used to narrow down decisions from a larger pool of applicants. Chapters are required to remove the qualifier if it excludes applicants that would qualify under the fund agreement.

For example, a chapter received eight scholarship applications. The chapter has decided to award based on chapter area, incoming first year student status, and students with a 4.8 GPA. Of the eight scholarship applications, only four of the applications are from incoming students, only two of those students are from the chapter area, and neither of the students has a 4.8 GPA. The chapter should remove the 4.8 GPA criterion to make an award in compliance with Policy 3400.

Using the same example above, suppose the chapter removed the 4.8 GPA criteria and awarded both students. On May 15, the liaison informed the chapter that neither student accepted admission. The chapter must remove the criterion for the incoming first-year student and review the applications for current students to award the funds under the

Policy 3400 guidelines. Unless no students from the chapter area attend Virginia Tech, chapters must make every effort to award available funds from their Virginia Tech Foundation account.