Student Financial Services welcomes Rylie Carlson

Carlson on a trip to Ireland

Rylie Carlson has joined the SFS team as Assistant Director for Athletic Financial Aid. Carlson comes to UVA from Iowa State University, where she was the Program Coordinator for Athletic Financial Aid. 

Since she was a student employee at the University of Northern Iowa, Carlson has been committed to working with students. She worked all four years of her undergraduate studies in financial aid, and upon graduation in 2011 with a degree in Business Management, she chose financial aid as her career and joined the team at Iowa State.

“I like helping students and families understand their options for paying for college, and finding the choices that work best for them,” Carlson says, adding that she especially enjoys working with first-generation students.

“I feel like I can help them the most,” she says.

Carlson (second from right) and family.

“They’re starting fresh and I can help them from the bottom up, through the entire process.”

At Iowa State, Carlson developed her specialty area of working with student athletes almost by accident.

“The person who was doing it left, and I volunteered to fill in,” she laughs.

Carlson went into learning mode and taught herself the NCAA rules, and she hasn’t looked back since.

On a trip to Colorado

She has found that not only does she help students achieve financial success, but she also enjoys supporting them on the field. She feels it’s important for students to know that she really cares about their success. And, since UVA has a wider breadth of sports than Iowa State had, she’s excited about checking out sports she’s unfamiliar with, like lacrosse and rowing.

In her new role at UVA, Carlson is already pleased with all of the financial resources SFS has at their disposal. When Carlson isn’t working, she enjoys traveling, going to concerts and getting outdoors. She’s looking forward to exploring her new corner of Virginia, checking out the great hiking trails and beautiful wineries. 

“It’s beautiful here,” she says, before citing another benefit of her new position in a new area: “I’m honestly glad to have escaped an early and harsh winter in Iowa. It’s -3 there right now!”