L&L Friendship Fund

The L&L Friendship Fund was established in 2023 through the generous gift of approximately $2.5 million from an anonymous VCU alumnus and family whose passion for their personal study abroad experience inspired their desire to support participation among VCU students. The gift is intended to provide support to students with demonstrated financial need pursuing world-broadening experiences in the VCU Global Education Office (GEO). Funds may be used for expenses associated with educational experiences abroad on a GEO-approved credit-bearing education abroad program.

Eligibility: The award is open to full-time, degree-seeking students (any level) in any major. Eligible applicants must be a degree seeking student at VCU with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater, be in good academic standing, be participating in a credit-bearing, approved study abroad program, and have registered their program with the Global Learning department prior to departure.

Selection criteria: Applicants will be evaluated based on demonstrated financial need as determined by GEO. Applicants will be prompted to answer application questions to demonstrate need as it relates to their study abroad.

Please be aware that the receipt of any additional aid, including scholarships, may impact your financial aid package. If there are any questions, please talk to your financial aid counselor before submitting your application.

Recipients of the L&L Friendship Fund scholarship are encouraged to share their experience abroad at VCU Global Learning-sponsored events upon their return and to share personal notes for the donors about the impact of their experiences abroad.

Award
$2,000
Deadline
10/10/2024
Supplemental Questions
  1. Study abroad program name and/or name of host institution
  2. City and Country of Destination
  3. Intended Dates of Study Abroad Participation
  4. Will this be your first time studying abroad? Please list any previous travel to foreign destinations, the purpose, approximate length, and year.
  5. To be eligible for this scholarship, your study abroad program must take place during the summer 2025 or fall 2025 terms. If you have plans to study abroad after these listed terms, please check back in a future cycle. Is your study abroad program in either summer 2025 or fall 2025?
  6. To be eligible to apply for this award, you must have a specific study abroad program with actual and estimated expenses communicated. To be eligible for disbursement of this award, you must have started your study abroad registration with the Global Education Office at https://vcu.studioabroad.com/ before the program application deadline. Please confirm that you understand that the scholarship, if awarded, will not be disbursed if you haven't completed your registration with the Global Education Office on a specific program by the program application close date. You do not need to commit to your program in order to be eligible to apply for the scholarship. Please email abroad@vcu.edu for any questions.
  7. To be eligible for this scholarship, your study abroad must be credit-bearing. Is your program credit-bearing?
  8. Please indicate the total estimated amount of your study abroad costs as well as an itemized breakdown of budget items such as program fee, tuition, housing, meals, airfare, local transportation, passport, student visa, immunizations, textbooks/supplies, etc. Please list all budget items and amounts separately.
  9. Will you experience a loss of income while studying abroad? If yes, and you are employed, please calculate and explain any anticipated loss of income for the length of your study abroad; please include your place of work, average hourly rate, and average weekly hours used to calculate total.
  10. Do you currently receive any institutional scholarships from VCU for your education (i.e. Deans, Provost, Presidential)? If yes, please name the institutional scholarships.
  11. Do you currently receive loans for your education? If so, please describe.
  12. Have you earned any other scholarships to fund your study abroad? If yes, please provide the names and amounts of scholarships.
  13. Aside from financial aid and scholarships, what other sources of support do you receive to fund your education (for example, family financial support, military benefits, etc)?
  14. Please discuss how financially committed you are to your intended study abroad program and its related costs at this time. For example, have you already paid a deposit to your program?
  15. If you don’t get the L & L scholarship, will you still go on your intended study abroad program, and how do you plan to cover the cost?
  16. Please upload a screenshot of your estimated financial aid award from VCU Self Service. Please see instructions here.
  17. In no more than 500 words, please briefly discuss how this study abroad experience will provide you with a world-broadening experience. In other words, how will this study abroad benefit you academically and professionally, and please be specific in addressing how the experience will help you to accomplish long-term goals.
  18. In no more than 500 words, please provide an explanation of your financial need as it relates to your plans to study abroad and provide any additional details beyond what you have demonstrated in your budget about your ability to fund your study abroad. Use this as an opportunity to discuss why you need this scholarship in order to afford the program.
  19. Please be aware that the receipt of any additional aid, including scholarships, may impact your financial aid package. If there are any questions, please talk to your VCU financial aid counselor (you can locate via Navigate) before submitting your application. Please confirm that you have read this information.
  20. I understand that by applying for funding through VCU Education Abroad I am not guaranteed to receive support and that my completed application will be evaluated through a competitive process. I understand that, if selected, I will be notified and asked to confirm my interest in receiving the award. I agree to notify the Education Abroad office in writing if I no longer wish to be considered for a scholarship. Students who no longer wish to be considered for the scholarship should email abroad@vcu.edu. By digitally signing this document, I acknowledge that both my personal reputation and the reputation of the University can benefit from the manner in which I represent myself and VCU. I will do everything within my control to safeguard my good name and that of VCU throughout my experience abroad. As required under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), commonly known as FERPA, I hereby give permission for my scholarship application, including but not limited to grade point average (GPA), transcripts, essays, and individual course grades, to be used and discussed with VCU faculty, staff, alumni, and community members. I grant permission for VCU to use my biographical information to publicize my nomination for this award and my receipt of this award, should I be selected. I also hereby certify that I have no Honor Code convictions or pending investigations with respect to academic integrity and all of the information I include in my application for this award are my own work and are accurate and truthful to the best of my knowledge. If I receive a scholarship, I agree to: Register my study abroad program with VCU Education Abroad by the appropriate registration deadline. Furthermore, I acknowledge that all of my statements on the application are complete and accurate to the best of my ability.
  21. The purpose of sharing your information with your donor(s) is to connect scholarship recipients with donors for opportunities such as internships, jobs, mentoring, networking, scholarship management, and donor stewardship. Please provide your affirmative consent to provide the following information to your scholarship donor(s): Student Name, Email address, Class level/graduation year, Program of study (major/minor/certification), GPA, Honors/awards, Community involvement, and your impact statement, including any and all information recorded in your Rams Scholarship Hub Post-Acceptance. I authorize Virginia Commonwealth University, and those acting pursuant to its authority, to release the above-described information to the donor(s) who support my scholarship(s), for the purposes described above. For questions related to this consent, modification of your contact information, or revocation of your existing consent, contact scholarships@vcu.edu.
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