Planning for college or training next year? Apply for the Vermont Grant and explore VSAC’s free scholarship booklet to help you cover costs.
How We Create Opportunities for Vermonters
VSAC’s financial aid, loan services, and outreach programs are helping Vermonters to build something better
Our vision is to create opportunities for all Vermont students, but particularly for those—of any age—who believe that the doors to higher education are closed to them.
VSAC’s 529 COLLEGE SAVINGS PLAN
More than $595.2 million is invested in 28,315 Vermont Higher Education Investment plan accounts as of June 2023.
VSAC NEED-BASED EDUCATION GRANTS
In 2022–2023, VSAC awarded 12,214 need-based education grants (totaling $24.1 million) to Vermont students.
VSAC SCHOLARSHIPS
VSAC administered 150 scholarships funded by public or private sources—funding 4,668 awards worth more than $10 million during the 2022–2023 academic year.
VSAC LOAN SERVICES
VSAC’s FY23 financing:
- VSAC issued $38 million in its Vermont Advantage loans and serviced $464 million in federal and private loans
- Borrower benefit programs have saved borrowers more than $183 million since 1995
- Offered the Vermont Advantage loan for Vermont students and parents
- Provided Vermont Advantage loan coaching: free, in-depth personalized education debt counseling as borrowers begin repayment
VSAC COMMUNITY OUTREACH
In 2022–2023, VSAC:
- Counseled 5,380 modest-income and/or first-generation, college-bound Vermont students of all ages through the VSAC Aspirations Project, special projects with the McClure Foundation and three federal grants: Talent Search, GEAR UP and Educational Opportunity Center.
- 71% of Talent Search and 56% of GEAR UP participants who graduated from high school in 2022 continued their education in the fall.
- More than 1,681 Vermont adults enrolled in the EOC program and 79% enrolled in postsecondary education; the program assisted an additional 2,010 people throughout Vermont.
- Middle school and high school students from all over Vermont were served by GEAR UP partnerships, including Vermont Afterschool, Governor’s Institutes of Vermont, Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative, University of Vermont, and Community College of Vermont’s Introduction to College & Careers.
- Served approximately 431 first-year Vermont students attending colleges both in- and out-of-state through VSAC’s innovative GUIDE program, which helps students transition successfully to college and improve first-year retention rates. Additionally, approximately 900 GEAR UP postsecondary students received GEAR UP’s renewable scholarship.
- 42,000 Vermonters and other borrowers are assisted by VSAC financial counselors in FY23.
- Some 767 parents and students attended free “Paying for College” and "Financial Aid Forms" events, and 1,243 students and parents attended our "College & Career Pathways" event at four locations sitewide, while an additional 413 students and families viewed these events online via livestream or recording. Recordings and webinars have received over 2,292 video views on YouTube.
- Distributed financial aid materials, adult student handbooks, and scholarship booklets to 650 Vermont schools, libraries, and agencies.
- VSAC staff provided training to 428 education professionals on the topics of career exploration, college planning, and applying for financial aid.
Learn more about how VSAC influences higher education policy in Vermont >
VSAC 2023 Annual Report
Download VSAC’s 2023 annual report.