Student Aid
Understanding Your Offer
Understand your Financial Aid Offer in LionPATH. How to navigate and next steps.
Financial Aid Offer
Your financial aid notification will provide you with instructions on how to access your Financial Aid Offer, which will list all of the student financial aid (scholarships, grants, work-study, and loans) for which you qualify, based on your eligibility.
Your financial aid amounts are estimated, subject to change, and non-negotiable.
Federal and state grant amounts are contingent upon final federal funding and state appropriations.
The College Financing Plan, a standardized financial aid notification designed by the federal government, to compare financial aid packages and costs between universities. Access your Financing Plan within your initial 'Financial Aid Offer'.
Penn State is unable to meet the full demonstrated financial need of most students. Federal Direct Subsidized and/or Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan(s) are offered as part of your financial aid package.
Frequently Asked Questions
You are responsible for monitoring your balance and communicating with your manager. Should you lose your funding or eligibility it is your responsibility to communicate with your supervisor/manager. Should your funds be exhausted, you will need to cease working as a federal work-study student. Additional opportunities for continued employment in your position would be at the discretion of the manager/supervisor as any future earnings would be their department’s responsibility.
An offer of Federal Work Study does not guarantee a job position is available. Penn State offers work-study positions both on-campus and off-campus. Typical offer is $3,500 for undergraduates and $4,000 for graduate students. Federal work study funds are applicable only to the term in which they are offered. Any funding not earned cannot be deferred or applied to a subsequent academic term. Work study must be accepted and students must complete all onboarding tasks prior to earning. Student earnings are directly-deposited into their bank accounts - not reflected in their Bursar account. Earning totals are reflected in LionPATH. Notifications are sent to STUDENTS at 50% and 75%, and after each pay-period beyond that. Increases can be requested - pending eligibility review and funding availability. If you were not offered work-study and are interested, please contact the Office of Student Aid to request a review
Federal student loans, such as the Federal Direct Loan and the Parent PLUS Loan, generally have more favorable terms and conditions than private loans. We recommend using all federal loan eligibility before turning to private loans.
The Direct Parent PLUS loan is a federal loan available to the parents of dependent undergraduate students. The Direct Parent PLUS Loan offers flexible loan limits and a fixed 8.05% interest rate for the 2023-24 school year and 9.08% interest rate for the 2024-25 school year. Eligibility is determined by the applicants credit history.
Private alternative loans are managed through private lenders, issued in the student’s name, and require a co-signer. Eligibility, rates, terms, and conditions vary. Loan applications for Fall/Spring will be available at studentloans.gov on July 1.
View your loan history through the National Student Loan Data System, the U.S. Department of Education's central database for student aid information. National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is the U.S. Department of Education's central database for student aid and provides aid information, including Title IV loans and Pell Grants.
NSLDS tracks this information from the financial aid approval stage through the closure stage. Data is transmitted to NSLDS from schools, agencies that guaranty loans, the Direct Loan program, the Pell Grant program, and other U.S. Department of Education programs.
You can view your NSLDS information by logging into studentaid.gov. Your profile will provide personalized information like your federal student loan balance, disbursement dates and contact information. You can also view information on your federal loan servicer(s). Log into studentaid.gov.
Scholarships are made possible through generous donations. A well-written "thank you" letter is an important way to acknowledge the funding you have received and gives the donor the opportunity to learn about you. The following tips and sample letter may be helpful for writing your own letter.
Tips for writing your "thank you" letter:
Begin your letter with Dr., Ms., Mr., or Mrs. as appropriate. Do not address the individual by their first name. Only use “Dear Donor” or “Dear Benefactor” in cases where the award letter instructs you to do so, such as when writing to an anonymous donor.
Acknowledge the scholarship you have received by referencing the full name of the scholarship in your first sentence. Include your mailing address and email address if you would like to give the donor the opportunity to respond.
Do not include your Penn State Student ID number. Make it personal. Donors believe that both they and you are making a difference in the world. They are interested in hearing about you.
Avoid confrontational topics such as political, religious, spiritual, or cultural viewpoints. Do not assume that the donor’s viewpoints/preferences are the same as yours.
Proofread! We ask that you write a new "thank you" letter for each year that you continue to receive a scholarship.
If you receive funding from the same donor in previous years, update them on your academic plans, your extracurricular activities, and your career goals. Let them know what you have accomplished this year and how their funding helped make that possible.