Virginia student and vocational grants: Commonwealth Award, VGAP, VTAG, G3 and WIOA (2026-27)

The Commonwealth Award and VGAP at Virginia public colleges

The Virginia Commonwealth Award is open to undergraduates admitted to a Virginia public two- or four-year college and enrolled at least half time in an approved degree, certificate or diploma program ⁠¹. You must count as a “Virginia student” in one of three ways: domicile under Code § 23.1-502, the military-dependent rule in § 23.1-505, or the Tuition Equity provision in § 23.1-505.1 ⁠¹. You also need financial need as your college calculates it, Selective Service compliance, and a FAFSA or VASA filed by the college’s published deadline ⁠¹. By law, awards must be proportional to need, so the neediest students get the largest grants, and no award may exceed tuition and required fees ⁠¹. You can renew as long as funds last, you keep satisfactory academic progress, and you still meet the eligibility rules ⁠¹.

For 2026-27, the Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program (VGAP) still sits on top of the Commonwealth Award. Under the rules in force before 2026, it served full-time students who graduated from a Virginia high school with at least a 2.5 GPA. VGAP students had to be awarded before Commonwealth Award students with the same remaining need, and they had to receive more money ⁠². The grant scaled with need and with the cost of tuition, fees and books. It paid one year per class level, for at most four years at a bachelor’s institution or two at a community college. Renewal required a 2.0 college GPA, continuing need and continuous full-time enrollment ⁠².

What SB 167 changes for students entering in fall 2027

Senate Bill 167 became 2026 Acts of Assembly Chapter 273. It rewrites Article 6 of the higher education title so that the Virginia Commonwealth Award is the single need-based state grant at public colleges, and it repeals the separate Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Fund ⁠². The new undergraduate test is at least half-time enrollment on the census date, Virginia domicile, financial need and Selective Service compliance. The high school GPA requirement is gone ⁠². Graduate students can also receive the award if they are full time and meet need or other criteria set by the institution ⁠².

The transition matters if you are a high school senior now. Starting with first-time students enrolled in fall 2027, colleges may not offer new VGAP grants. Students who receive VGAP in 2026-27 can keep renewing it for up to three more award years, four years in all, if they meet the old renewal rules ⁠². SCHEV must adopt emergency regulations for the new system by April 1, 2027. A work group led by the Secretary of Education must report on Virginia’s financial aid model by July 1, 2027 ⁠².

VTAG for Virginians at private nonprofit colleges

The Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) is not based on need. It goes to Virginia students enrolled full time at 28 eligible private nonprofit colleges, including Liberty, Hampton, the University of Richmond, Roanoke College and Marymount, in programs other than religious training or theology ⁠³. Graduate students qualify only in health-related professional programs (CIP series 51) ⁠³. Residency follows the same three routes as the Commonwealth Award, so Tuition Equity students qualify ⁠³.

SCHEV says the chart is a maximum that may be revised if funding or participation changes. Future teachers get a $250-per-semester bonus ⁠³. The budget adds $7,500 at private HBCUs and up to $2,000 at qualifying Hispanic-serving private colleges ⁠⁴.

VTAG has its own form. Get the 2026-27 VTAG application (or the TEP-VTAG version) from your college’s financial aid office and return it by September 15 before the fall term. Applications received by December 1 are paid only if funds remain ⁠³.

Filing the FAFSA or VASA by each school’s own date

Virginia does not set one statewide FAFSA deadline. Every college sets its own priority date, and SCHEV publishes the full list ⁠⁵:

2027-28 dates are usually similar, but check the list and your school’s site before relying on them ⁠⁵.

Virginians who cannot file the FAFSA, including undocumented and DACA students and some visa holders, file the Virginia Alternative State Aid (VASA) application, which SCHEV runs ⁠⁶. Its only job is to calculate an SAI. Public colleges use that SAI for the Commonwealth Award, VGAP and the Transfer Grant, and private colleges use it only for the Transfer Grant ⁠⁶. VASA does not prove eligibility. Your college still has to confirm in-state status through domicile, the military-dependent rule or Tuition Equity ⁠⁶. It follows the same deadline as the school’s FAFSA, and you must file it every year. If you file both forms, colleges use the FAFSA ⁠⁶. For portal problems, email [email protected] ⁠⁶.

Transfer Grant: finishing a bachelor’s after community college

The Two-Year College Transfer Grant rewards students who earn an associate degree at a Virginia public two-year college with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. To qualify, you must then enroll full time at a participating public or private nonprofit four-year college in the fall or spring right after graduating ⁠⁷. You need an SAI of 15,000 or less from the FAFSA or VASA, and you must have entered college as a first-time freshman in fall 2007 or later ⁠⁷. The grant is $1,000 a year, plus another $1,000 a year for students in engineering, mathematics, nursing, teaching or science ⁠⁸.

G3 and FastForward at Virginia’s community colleges

Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back (G3) is Virginia’s state-run tuition program for community college students in approved high-demand fields: education, health care, hospitality and culinary arts, information technology, public safety, and skilled trades, manufacturing and construction ⁠⁹. To qualify, your household income must be at or below 400% of the federal poverty guidelines; VCCS describes that as roughly $120,000 for a family of four. You must also take at least six credits a semester or an eligible noncredit program, and you must apply for federal and state aid first ⁠⁹⁠¹⁰. G3 is a last-dollar grant. It pays whatever tuition, mandatory fees and the textbook stipend remain after Pell and state grants ⁠¹⁰. Full-time students who get a full Pell Grant can also receive a Student Support Incentive Grant of up to $2,250 a year: $900 a semester and $450 in summer, paid half after the census date and half at the end of the term ⁠¹⁰. To keep G3, you must make satisfactory progress, finish an associate degree within three years, and stay under 150% of the credits your program requires ⁠¹⁰.

FastForward is how Virginia’s Community Colleges run the New Economy Workforce Credential Grant for short noncredit credential programs. You pay one-third of the program cost when you enroll and sign an agreement to finish. If you do not complete the program, you owe another third ⁠¹¹. The state reimburses the college one-third when you finish and the last third when you earn the credential, up to $4,000 per program per student ⁠¹¹. This grant is not reduced by other aid unless your total aid would exceed program costs ⁠¹¹.

Virginia Works, the Training Provider List and Workforce Pell

WIOA training money flows through local workforce development boards and their Virginia Career Works centers. Virginia Works, the state’s Department of Workforce Development and Advancement, maintains the statewide Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) ⁠¹². Eligible adults, dislocated workers and out-of-school youth ages 16 to 24 can get an Individual Training Account (ITA) paid by their local board. Being on the ETPL does not guarantee funding, though. Each board decides based on its own policy, in-demand jobs, available money and your career plan ⁠¹². Standalone courses such as OSHA, ServSafe or CPR cannot be listed ⁠¹². State policy says WIOA pays for training when other aid is not available. Adult funds go first to public assistance recipients, other low-income people, people who are basic-skills deficient and people with limited English, and veterans keep priority of service ⁠¹³. Each board must publish any dollar or time limits on its ITAs, so ask your center for its current cap ⁠¹³.

Pell is the base layer under every Virginia grant: $740 to $7,395 for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 ⁠¹⁵. Workforce Pell extends Pell to programs of 150 to 599 clock hours lasting 8 to fewer than 15 weeks, with completion and job placement rates of at least 70% ⁠¹⁴. In Virginia, a program must pass SCHEV, Virginia Works and the Virginia Board of Workforce Development before the Governor’s Office certifies it and sends it to the U.S. Department of Education ⁠¹⁴. As of October 20, 2026, Virginia Works lists the state policy and application as under construction, so do not count on Workforce Pell for a Virginia program yet ⁠¹⁴.

Your 2027-28 Virginia aid plan, step by step

1. Choose the right form

   File the 2027-28 FAFSA if you can, because it covers Pell, the Commonwealth Award, VGAP, CTG and G3. If you cannot, file the VASA application for state aid only ⁠⁶.

2. Beat your college’s priority date

   Use SCHEV’s deadline list. For most public universities that means March 1, and for VCU, February 1 ⁠⁵.

3. Settle in-state status early

   Answer your college’s domicile questions in the admissions application, or document military-dependent or Tuition Equity status. No state grant is paid without it ⁠¹⁠⁶.

4. At a private college, add the VTAG form

   Return it to the aid office by September 15 for the fall term ⁠³.

5. At a community college, ask about G3 and FastForward

   Bring proof of household income if the G3 office asks for it, and confirm your program is on the college’s G3 list ⁠⁹⁠¹¹.

6. For job training outside college aid, visit a Virginia Career Works center

   Expect an assessment, pick a program from the ETPL, and ask the board for its ITA limits in writing ⁠¹²⁠¹³.

7. Review the award and appeal if needed

   Award amounts come from each college’s aid office. Direct questions, verification requests and appeals there, and keep up satisfactory academic progress to renew ⁠¹⁠⁶.

For other states’ programs, see our 50-state comparison of student and vocational grants.