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Richard Bland College scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$28,076per year · 2025-2026 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Richard Bland College may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
3 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

The award collection

Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Where does your student land?

  1. Presidential Merit Scholarship (Honors Program award)$1,000Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Presidential Merit Scholarship (Honors Program award)

    $1,000

    Published amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.5 GPA or higher
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Presidential Merit Scholarship (Honors Program award)

    Who qualifies

    Must be invited to and participate in the Honors Program

    How to keep it

    Tied to continued Honors Program participation (Honors requires 3.25 RBC GPA and 15 credit hours per semester). Specific scholarship renewal terms not separately stated.

    Worth knowing

    RBC's largest merit-based (not need-based) scholarship. 'Typically $1,000 per academic year.' The Honors Program page describes this as a '$500/semester scholarship (awarded on first-come, first-serve basis).'

  2. Promise Scholars Program80% of direct cost (assured)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Promise Scholars Program

    80% of direct cost (assured)

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.5+ high-school GPA or 3.25 college GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Promise Scholars Program

    Who qualifies

    Virginia resident; FAFSA shows Pell Grant eligibility; commitment to live on campus; accepted to RBC; separate Promise Scholars application, essay, resume, and interview; committed to transferring to William & Mary

    How to keep it

    FAFSA must be completed each year; must meet academic benchmarks and fulfill Honors Program requirements; two full years of coursework completed at RBC with an Associate's Degree.

    Worth knowing

    Competitive — only 15 rising sophomores selected. 'Promise Scholars are assured to receive 80% of direct cost' (tuition, fees, room, meals, 15 credits/sem, basic housing & meal plan). Package blends a $2,000 Promise Scholarship + $1,000 Honors Scholarship + Pell + RBC grants. RBC also offers up to $5,500 in loans for the remaining 20%.

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The fine print

Aid capHard $28,076 cost-of-attendance ceiling

Institutional aid at Richard Bland College cannot push the package past $28,076. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What makes Richard Bland College different

Richard Bland, Virginia's only public two-year residential college, offers little stand-alone stat-based merit — its signature award is the competitive Promise Scholars program guaranteeing 80% of direct cost for Pell-eligible Virginians transferring to William & Mary.

Merit tiers2See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Richard Bland College's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  1. RBC publishes no GPA/test award grid; its only stand-alone merit award is the Presidential Merit (~$1,000/yr) tied to Honors Program participation, and most aid is need-based.

  2. The 80% guarantee covers direct cost (tuition, fees, room, meals at 15 credits/basic housing/basic meal plan) and is built from Pell, grants, and the $2,000 + $1,000 scholarships — the remaining 20% is offered as up to $5,500 in loans.

  3. Only 15 rising sophomores are selected, and you must be a Pell-eligible Virginia resident, live on campus, complete a separate application/essay/interview, and commit to transferring to William & Mary.

  4. Outside scholarships are treated as resources and may reduce your need-based aid; if they exceed your need or cost of attendance, RBC adjusts the package — students must submit a copy of any outside award letter.

  5. RBC is residential; on-campus VA-resident cost of attendance is about $28,076 (with ~$12,558 room/food), so a ~$1,000 Presidential award covers only a small share.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

High-achieving (3.5 HS GPA), Pell-eligible Virginia residents who want to live on campus and transfer to William & Mary — the Promise Scholars program is the headline value. Most other RBC aid is need-based.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $28,076 for 2025-2026. Source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Richard Bland College, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Richard Bland College, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$10,245
$30,001–$48,000$10,329
$48,001–$75,000$12,279
$75,001–$110,000$16,905
$110,001+$20,790
All income levels (average)$13,045

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$9,090
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$14,970
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$13,045

That works out to roughly a 46% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $24,206 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Richard Bland College is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$11,000 (~$117/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$41,452
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
56%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
49%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Outside (private/third-party) scholarships are treated as resources and may reduce need-based financial aid; if an outside award exceeds the student's financial need and/or cost of attendance, the aid package is adjusted to stay within federal/state limits (a cost-of-attendance cap). Institutional Endowment Scholarships are awarded by the Financial Aid Office based on need.

The scholarships page states outside scholarships are considered resources that may reduce need-based aid, with adjustments if the award exceeds need and/or COA. The merit Presidential award is described as merit-based, not need-based; the page does not state whether outside awards reduce the Presidential/Promise merit specifically.

Source

Other Richard Bland College scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityComplete the FAFSA; awarded by the Financial Aid Office based on financial need and donor-established eligibility

Recipients notified via financial aid award letter

Source

Richard Bland College merit aid FAQ

  • What is RBC's main merit scholarship?

    The Presidential Merit Scholarship — RBC's largest merit-based award, typically $1,000 per academic year, for students invited to and participating in the Honors Program with a 3.5+ GPA.

  • What is the Promise Scholars deadline?

    The application example on the page lists a deadline of May 3, 2024 (an older cycle), with Zoom interviews after FAFSA results are received. Confirm the current-year deadline with honors@rbc.edu.

  • Does the Honors Program come with money?

    Yes — the Honors Program page lists a $500/semester scholarship awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis (consistent with the ~$1,000/yr Presidential Merit / Honors Scholarship).

  • How are outside scholarships treated?

    They are considered resources and may reduce need-based aid; if they exceed your financial need and/or cost of attendance, your aid package is adjusted. You must give Financial Aid a copy of the award letter.

  • Do I need the FAFSA for scholarships?

    Endowment Scholarships and the Promise Scholars program require the FAFSA; the Presidential Merit is merit-based and not need-based.

See sources and other schools

How Richard Bland College compares

  • 235 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

    Richard Bland College is in a recognizable cluster (235 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Richard Bland College is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Richard Bland College’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

  • UMW merit aid. Virginia public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • VCU merit aid. Virginia public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Virginia State merit aid. Virginia public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • UVA merit aid. Virginia public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring Richard Bland College merit aid

The next chapter

Where does Richard Bland College fit in your plan?

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