NEW YORK Peggy Nardini was so sad when her twins left for college last year that she kept the doors to their rooms closed. When she recently dropped them off for their second year away, she felt the same pull at her heart. “That initial moment when you give them that hug goodbye, when you walk away from the dorm and back to the car without them - that was awfully hard,“ said Nardini, 48, a secretary in Madrid, Iowa.

Before worrying about college tuition, there’s the small matter of getting your child into a school. It’s a process that can sap you of thousands of dollars, especially if you’re booking hotel rooms and plane tickets to visit campuses. Application fees alone can be $60 or more a pop. Many parents considers the costs necessary to securing the best future for their child. With so much at stake, many parents say it’s easier to surrender any attempt at budgeting. Yet at a time when anxieties are high, mindful spending can help focus your goals.

Several Richmonders are among the 249 Virginia Military Institute cadets who graduated May 16. They are:

• Thomas D. Gottwald, bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering.

• Bryce A. Carter, bachelor of science degree in civil engineering

• Mark E. Gliebe, bachelor of arts degree in economics/business; graduating honors include Army commission.

College students from the Richmond area have been recognized for their academic achievement.

• Olivia Travis of Ashland, a student at Randolph College in Lynchburg, was named to the dean’s list for the 2009 spring semester. The dean’s list recognizes students who have achieved superior quality in their academic work.

Grants: Grants are what some in the financial-aid industry call “free money.“ They don’t need to be repaid. Some are given by universities, but most come from federal and state governments. There are several types of grants, including grants for academic achievement, Pell Grants for students who meet need requirements, and federal work-study programs, which find students jobs to offset college costs.

Alma Gaynelle “Gay” Whitlock was born in Mineral in Louisa County. She studied, and later taught, at universities whose dining halls could seat the entire Mineral population of under 500. She was equally at home in either environment, relatives and colleagues say. Dr. Whitlock died Sunday of cancer, 10 days after her 70th birthday. Until recently, she had been hard at work as director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for School-Community Collaboration and as a town historian and preservationist in Mineral.

CHARLOTTESVILLE—The University of Virginia is poised to take on an estimated $250 million in debt to finance a long list of construction projects. The finance committee of the university’s board of visitors voted unanimously Thursday to issue up to $300 million worth of bonds in April to help pay for the projects. Final approval of the measure is expected today.

When Sara P. Little became the first female full professor at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond in 1973, she said her appointment was part of the increasing role women were playing in the Presbyterian Church. In a Richmond Times-Dispatch interview at the time, she said the church only recently had begun to accept the idea of women in ministry, partly because women had not pursued Christian higher-education or ministerial positions. But in the previous month, two women had received doctor of ministry degrees from the seminary and 22 women were beginning studies in the program.

Eighteen central Virginia students were named to the Pesident’s Lst at Bryant & Stratton College at its recent academic awards convocation for the fall semester.The president’s list represents full-time students who earned grade-point averages of 4.00 during the semester. By localities, students are: Chester—Chandos Carrow; Colonial Heights—Melika Birt; Hopewell—Chondra Jordan; Midlothian—Aimee Westcott; Petersburg—Kiera Barham,Leontaye Edmonds; Powhatan—Kristin Stack; Richmond—Alfornia Carter, Chaunte Fair, Sania Fairman, Lekeesha Jones, Gilbert Lee, Lawanda Moomau, Felicia Powell, Sandra Sherrod, Eve Taylor, Cheryl Wiley; Sandston—Mary Hamilton.

Lavanya Jagadish of Midlothian has been named to Wake Forest University’s dean’s list for fall semester 2008.

Patricia Ashley Hilliar of Manakin-Sabot earned a bachelor of science degree in government from Berry College in Mount Berry, Ga., in December.

Charles Shelton wants a full scholarship to play football at a Division I college. But in case that doesn’t work out, the second-team all-District defensive back and junior at Richmond’s John Marshall High School is exploring other options. This week, he learned that with his good grade-point average and early preparation, he’ll have them.

Virginia’s private colleges will hold “WRAP Sessions” Jan. 24 to let prospective students know that even during a recession the schools can be an affordable option. The sessions will be held at 10 a.m. at 25 colleges, including the University of Richmond, Virginia Union University and Randolph-Macon College. Sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia, the sessions are designed to let students know they don’t necessarily have to pay the school’s sticker price. Funding such as the state’s $3,200 Tuition Assistance Grant also lowers the costs.

Although Detroit’s woes have been well documented, the U.S. retains considerable industrial might. As college football’s recently concluded season of bowls and “classics” suggests, football factories are running at full throttle.

With tuition likely to rise as colleges face state budget cuts of up to 15 percent, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia yesterday adopted a report outlining strategies for making school more affordable. The action came as the council heard what SCHEV Executive Director Daniel J. LaVista termed a “sobering reflection” on the financial situation facing state colleges and universities.