For years, UMW has maintained highly competitive tuition while providing students a superior academic value. UMW Magazine is not the only source saying so; rankings institutions – Kiplinger’s, U.S. News, and Princeton Review among them – have placed UMW among the best academic values in the United States.
The Mary Washington First campaign began in 2011, four years after the start of the Great Recession, when state budgets for higher education had been slashed across the nation. Virginia was hit especially hard: According to the Center on Budget and Policy, the commonwealth’s 2015 funding for public colleges and universities remained nearly 25 percent below pre-2008 figures. In that period, the average Virginia public college tuition rose nearly $3,000.
Since the Mary Washington First campaign began, generous donors have created or pledged to fund more than 80 new UMW scholarships. That advances one of the top goals of the campaign: Increase student support while strengthening the university’s ability to attract top-level students.
Donors recognized that private funding is essential to continuing the academic excellence enjoyed by generations of UMW graduates, said Torre Meringolo, vice president for Advancement and University Relations. “We are heartened by the extraordinary support for student scholarships during this campaign,” he said. “Because they provide direct support for our students, these scholarships provide an incredible legacy for our donors.”