Frequently Asked Questions
You were invited to apply for the Board of Visitors award because you already meet the following criteria:
- You are currently enrolled as a full-time sophomore, junior or senior
- You have achieved a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average
Screening process
The Screening Committee, comprised of faculty, staff and administrators, will review the applications and narrow the pool to three finalists. The three finalists will be notified in early March and invited to meet with the Selection Committee prior to the March Board of Visitors meeting. The date, time and location of the meeting with the Selection Committee will be provided to the three finalists.
Selection process
The Selection Committee comprises:
- the rector
- the vice rector
- the secretary
- the chair of the Academic and Health Affairs Committee
- the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs
Prior to the March Board of Visitors meeting the Selection Committee will interview each of the three finalists. The Selection Committee will make a recommendation to the full Board of Visitors at the March meeting regarding their selection for the recipient of the award as well as the runners-up.
Presentation of Award
Pending any health and safety restrictions, the recipient of the award will be invited to the May 2023 Board of Visitors meeting, as well as the May 2023 Commencement Dinner and Commencement Ceremony, where they will be presented with the award by the rector or designee.
No. You must be enrolled continuously as a full-time undergraduate student in both fall 2024 and spring 2025 semesters in order to receive the award.
No. The Board of Visitors award is only for full-time undergraduate students, so you will not be eligible after you have completed your undergraduate degree.
When we pull the list of students to invite to apply for the award, we do not exclude those with senior status (based on credit hours earned), because we can't be certain (until a student submits their official application for graduation) if those earned credit hours meet the requirements for the preferred degree. This year, we pulled the list at the beginning of November, after the deadline for December 2023 graduation applications. Applications for graduation are sent to students with senior status at the beginning of each semester.
Yes. You may edit your application anytime throughout the application cycle. However, it must be finalized no later than 11:59 p.m on Jan. 1, 2024.
You, the applicant, will submit the name and contact information for your faculty recommender on your application (you do not have to have the entire application completed to submit the faculty information). Once submitted, the faculty member will receive an email with instructions on how to upload the letter directly to your application.
You will be able to see if the letter has been received by checking your application under the heading “Status.”
The deadline for faculty to upload their recommendation letters is also 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 1. If the letter isn’t submitted by the deadline, the application is incomplete.
The Screening Committee will review the applications and narrow the pool to three finalists in mid-March 2024. The three finalists will be contacted and will be invited to meet with the Selection Committee prior to the March Board of Visitors meeting.
The university maintains a list of scholarships for VCU students at the RAMS Scholarship Hub and at https://finaid.vcu.edu/types/scholarships/.
In addition, the VCU National Scholarship Office offers a range of services to VCU students and alumni who are interested in applying for competitive national and international scholarships and fellowships. Make an appointment through the NSO online booking service at nso.youcanbook.me/.
All inquiries should be directed to scholarships@vcu.edu.