The situation
The University of Virginia's College at Wise is a public liberal arts college serving approximately 2,250 students. Over the past four years, UVA Wise increased applications by more than 400% without adding enrollment staff. With 450+ scholarships to manage manually, financial aid awards that should have gone out in January weren't being delivered until April or May — creating a competitive disadvantage in recruiting admitted students.
The solution
In October 2025, UVA Wise expanded its partnership with CollegeVine, with plans to deploy a custom financial aid agent with two core responsibilities: automatically matching incoming students against 450+ scholarship criteria, and streamlining donor communication and reporting.
"We're exploring how AI can support more strategic, 1:1 financial aid packaging — leveraging data and predictive insights to create customized, equitable solutions that better reflect individual student needs. AI can allow us to maintain high-touch service for complex cases while improving consistency and equity," says Jeffrey Baylor, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management at UVA Wise.
Key benefits of using AI for financial aid operations
- Automate complex scholarship matching — AI evaluates students against hundreds of scholarship criteria instantly, replacing hours of manual review
- Deliver award decisions faster — accelerate financial aid timelines so students and families get answers when it matters most
- Provide consistent, accurate information beyond traditional office hours, helping families navigate time-sensitive financial aid questions
- Free up counselors for strategic work — shift staff from repetitive data tasks to equitable, personalized financial aid packaging
- Scale operations without adding headcount, enabling sustainable enrollment growth even as application volumes surge
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