Cost and Aid FAQs
Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first step in determining the types of aid for which you are eligible. Once you have completed your FAFSA, your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) 2023-24 or Student Aid Index (SAI) 2024-25 is calculated through a formula established by federal law.
The formula takes into account many variables including your (and your parents' if you are a dependent student):
Income and assets
Number of people living in your household
State of residence
Your cost of attendance minus your EFC/SAI equals your financial need.
Your EFC/SAI does not vary from school to school regardless of the actual cost of the institution you are attending. However, your financial need will vary according to each school's cost of attendance. For most students, financial aid only meets part of their financial need.
Contact the Graduate School.
Tuition rates may vary year-to-year. Review our to update rates and to and explore our tools for estimating cost at Penn State.
The Provost Award is a four-year award available to First Year students at Penn State’s 20 undergraduate campuses, excluding World Campus. Both Pennsylvania and non-Pennsylvania residents are considered for this award. Please review our and eligibility criteria.
Room and board fees can be part of the cost of attending Penn State. Please review our to find our current rates and explore our tools for estimating the cost of attendance at Penn State.
To be eligible for financial aid, students must fill out a FAFSA form. Review our Applying for Aid information by visiting the .
Yes! Penn State encourages students to submit the FASFA for various merit and need-based aid opportunities. Students can also apply to additional internal and external scholarship opportunities prior to receiving an admissions decision. Please review our .
Contact the Office of Veterans Programs. (https://equity.psu.edu/offices/veterans-programs)
Please review HOLDS and TO DO LIST description(s) in LionPATH for assistance. Incomplete items will prevent your federal financial aid from processing. LionPATH Statuses: Initiated = Requested Received = Reviewed- but not yet complete Complete = Completed and aid can disburse* Accept your Federal Student Loan(s), Private Loan(s), Work-study (if awarded), and University Loan (if awarded). Don’t know how to accept financial aid? Visit our instruction page. Grants and scholarships will be automatically accepted on the student’s behalf. Federal Student and Parent Loans Require a Master Promissory Note Federal Student Loans also require Loan Entrance Counseling Private Education Loans have a ten day Right of Rescission Period from the day the loan is accepted, until the day it disburses. Check this date with the lender; this date cannot be changed.
Responsibilities
Reading all materials provided by the Office of Student Aid and other awarding agencies. Read, understand, and keep copies of all forms you sign. Completing and correcting application materials to the appropriate agencies within required or recommended time frames. Knowing and complying with the rules governing the aid you receive. These rules include but are not limited to: one, you must not be in default on any prior educational loan and two, you must not owe a refund on a Federal Pell Grant or a Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) due to repayment or adjustment. Providing documentation, federal tax returns, W-2s, and any additional information requested by our office. Complying with the provisions of any promissory note and all other agreements you sign. Finalizing your semester schedule each semester by the Financial Aid Census Date, which is typically the end of the drop/add period, to ensure availability of all financial aid funds that you have been offered. Aid may be adjusted based on the number of credits for which you are enrolled as of the Census Date. Using student financial aid solely for direct educational costs and related living expenses. Knowing the financial aid implications of dropping a course or withdrawing from Penn State. Maintaining satisfactory academic progress. Keeping your local and permanent addresses current with the Office of the University Registrar. Reporting any change in your status, including informing the University and your loan servicer of changes to your name, address, social security number, and graduation date or if you transfer to another school. If you have educational loans, contacting your loan servicer(s) with any changes in enrollment including cancelling your courses, withdrawing, or taking a leave of absence from the University to determine any repayment obligations during your time away from the University. If you re-enroll at Penn State, you will need work with your loan servicer(s) to process a deferment of your loan payments. Providing complete and correct information on applications and in response to requests from our office or other awarding agencies. Begin attendance in all of the classes for which you receive financial aid. If you withdraw from or fail a class you did not begin attending, your federal financial aid may be reduced or canceled. Academic attendance includes physically attending class, submitting academic assignments, taking exams, or participating in online discussions that are part of the course delivery. Repay all loans according to your repayment schedule and to contact your loan servicer immediately if you can't make a requirement payment. Should you default on a federal loan you will not be eligible for financial aid. Activate your Penn State email account and regularly check your financial aid status in LionPATH. Complete exit counseling if you leave school or drop below half-time enrollment if you have borrowed Federal Direct Loans or University Loans. Reporting private sources of student financial aid to the Office of the Bursar at the address below. Please submit a copy of your outside scholarship award letter to: Office of the Bursar Attn: External Awards 109 Shields Building University Park, PA 16802 Fax: 814-865-6535
Rights
Privacy (FERPA). All records and information submitted with your application for financial aid are confidential and subject to legal requirements concerning disclosure of such information. Read more about FERPA and the privacy and release of student information. Know the correct procedures for applying for student financial aid, your cost of attendance, and the types of aid available. Know how financial need is determined, what the criteria are for financial aid sources, how satisfactory academic progress is determined, and what you have to do to continue receiving aid and how to reestablish your eligibility for financial assistance if you fail to maintain satisfactory progress. Understand the type and amount of assistance you will receive, how much of your need has been met, and how and when you will receive your aid funds. Read more about when you will receive your aid funds. View the contents of your student financial aid file, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Know the conditions of any loan you accept. Know the terms, conditions, and pay rate for any student job you accept. Appeal any decision with our office in regard to your application. Expect notification of your financial aid offer and any adjustments to it. Know where to find information on loans you borrowed, repayment options, and debt management strategies. Review Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan Repayment for more information about federal loan repayment options and to see a sample loan repayment schedule. Certain consumer information. Federal regulations require that institutions provide specific consumer information about the school and about financial aid to enrolled and prospective students. Cancel all or part of your federal loan and/or disbursement.
Review the information provided by the Office of the Bursar: Tuition Due Dates Paying your Statement Payment Options Refunds Outside Scholarships/External Awards Contact the Office of the Bursar with questions. (https://www.bursar.psu.edu/)
Students will receive a Financial Aid Notification (FAN) sent to their Penn State email. Once you have received your FAN: If you are a first-time undergraduate student and need to activate your account, or if you are unsure if you have already activated your account, log in to MyPennState. After you log in, click on "Financial Aid" in the left menu. In the ‘Financial Aid Information’ section follow the directions to complete activation. Once your access has been confirmed, you will have the option to continue to LionPATH. Visit LionPATH Support to begin: LionPATH Support
You might be contacted by a company saying they will help you get loan discharge, forgiveness, cancellation, or debt relief for a fee. You never have to pay for help with your federal student aid. Make sure you work only with the U.S. Department of Education and our loan servicers, and never reveal your personal information or account password to anyone. Emails to borrowers come from noreply@studentaid.gov, noreply@debtrelief.studentaid.gov or ed.gov@public.govdelivery.com. You can report scam attempts to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 1-877-382-4357 or visit reportfraud.ftc.gov. Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com. This service is provided to you at no charge by U.S. Department of Education.
Give your Parent/Guardian access to your Financial Aid/Budget information and your Student Account Statement (bill). Delegate Access is required for representatives to speak with your parent about your record. To set up Delegate Access: https://tutorials.lionpath.psu.edu/.../S\_SetDelegatedAccess/ To give your Authorized Payer Access: https://www.bursar.psu.edu/.../authorized-payer-access...
The ACP allows eligible participants access to low-cost or free internet services. Program benefits: Eligible households will receive $30 per month off their internet bills 20 leading internet providers to offer ACP-eligible households a high-speed internet plan for no more than $30 per month Eligible families who pair their ACP benefit with one of these plans can receive high-speed internet at no cost There are several ways to qualify for the ACP: through your participation in other government programs, based on your annual household income, or by participating in an internet service provider's low income plan. To see if you qualify, visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/getinternet/.
Books on Account All registered students who attend PSU are eligible to purchase books at a PSU bookstore/PSU Bookstore online****** and add the bookstore charges to their Penn State student account. Requirements: Your Penn State ID is required at the time of purchase. Bookstore charges are limited to course material purchases. You can charge up to $500 to your Penn State student account per semester. To learn more visit the Bursar's site.
Satisfactory academic progress for student financial aid purposes dictates that students must successfully complete a specific number of credits within a given period of time. Although the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) confidentiality policies do not allow us to release specific academic-related information to you without the written consent of your student, we encourage you to understand the student aid academic progress standard in general terms and be aware of your student's rights and responsibilities as a recipient of federal student aid. The Penn State Federal Student Aid Academic Progress Standard is different from academic standards set by academic departments (colleges) at Penn State. All universities that award federal student aid are required by law to have academic progress standards in place for all federal student aid recipients. The Penn State Federal Student Assistance (Aid) Academic Progress Standard encourages students to work toward an educational objective while completing their program of study within a federally determined time frame. Students who do not meet the student aid academic progress standard are not eligible for most forms of student aid. Our office strives to make every student aware of our student aid academic progress standard. Comprehensive information is available to students on our Web site and in our print publications.
When you apply for scholarships through an outside agency, they often require you to provide information about your costs, aid offer, and FAFSA. You can print this information directly from LionPATH. Student Self-Service You can find the links to view your Financial Aid Budget and Financial Aid Offer Letter in your LionPATH Student Home Base under the Financial Aid Offer. You will need to print the information and submit it to the scholarship agency. Certification of Forms by our office In the event that the scholarship agency is unwilling to accept the information that you have printed from LionPATH, requests to complete scholarship forms can be reviewed on a case by case basis with the understanding that the form can only be provided to the student for submission to the respective agency. Similar consideration may be given to students who need to submit their scholarship forms before the information is available in LionPATH.
An overaward exists when a student's aid package exceeds their total costs or their need. Examples: We offer aid to you when you are ineligible for a specific program or you are ineligible for any Federal Student Aid program assistance Your financial aid in an individual program exceeds the regulatory maximum, e.g., the annual or aggregate loan limits, the annual limit on Federal Supplementary Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), or a Pell Grant based on the wrong payment schedule/enrollment status Your aid package exceeds your need; including when your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is revised upward after initial packaging Your financial aid exceeds your cost of attendance (COA) You are receiving a Pell, or Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant at multiple schools for the same period
How did I get overawarded?
While we take care not to overaward you when packaging your aid, circumstances may change your aid package that result in an overaward. For instance, you may receive a scholarship or grant from an outside organization or your EFC/SAI has increased as a result of verification. If you are in an overaward, you will see the hold listed in your Holds section in LionPATH. This hold will prevent your federal financial aid from disbursing and being credited to your student account. You are not required to take any action.
Aid Adjustment(s)
When an overaward situation arises, we may have to adjust your aid package in order to eliminate the overaward. Once your overaward has been resolved, you will receive a communication from our office about the specific aid adjustment(s) that has been made to your financial aid. Any charges that remain on your Student Financial Account after the aid has been adjusted are your responsibility.
Students who are financial aid recipients and receive one or more "F" grades resulting from lack of attendance may have their aid adjusted. An instructor is responsible for reporting a student’s last day of attendance if the student quit attending before the end of the semester. This is considered an unofficial drop. An unofficial drop could result in repaying part or all of the federal and/or state student aid funds you received If your Federal Pell Grant has been disbursed and then you unofficially drop credits, your grants will always be adjusted if you drop below full-time. Your student Bursar account will be debited for the difference. If all of your grades in a semester are "F": If you earn all "F" grades from non-attendance within a semester, your aid will be adjusted according to federal regulations and you will be required to repay part or all of the federal and/or state student aid funds you received that semester. If you receive all “F” grades from never attending, all federal and/or state aid will be cancelled.
Work-study can be a great choice for incoming freshman and rising sophomores who might still be unsure of their majors. With work-study, they can find a job that focuses on giving to the community while they decide which program of study to pursue. On-campus work-study can help students acclimate to their school environment — like different departments, staff, processes — which in turn can help them narrow down a field of study. Work-study is friendly to college students’ schedules. For example, when holiday breaks come around, students don’t have to worry about asking for time off from work. There’s also flexibility when it comes to tests, finals, and special events related to college. Work-study is a form of financial aid. It ultimately can lower the amount of money you take out in student loans, meaning there’s less you have to pay back, and less interest accrued.
Work-study participants may never work more than 8 hours/day and 20 hours/week when classes are in session. Should you hold more than one work-study position, the sum of all positions may not exceed these limits. To ensure optimal use through the semester, plan your work schedule before you begin earning funds. Students are required to keep track of the hours worked as well as the balance of their funds and communicate that information with their supervisor. Students will receive email communication from the Office of Student Aid when they have utilized 50% of their funding and again as they near fund exhaustion. Earning above maximum amounts may negatively impact a student’s financial aid. Submitting falsified time sheets is considered fraud against the University and the federal government; legal action may be taken against the student. Federal regulation 34 CFR 668.16(g) requires the University to report to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General if a school has credible information that a student may have committed fraud or other criminal misconduct in connection with his or her application or eligibility for federal student aid. Therefore, instances of student misconduct involving falsification of timesheets must be reported to the Penn State Office of Student Aid to ensure the University’s compliance with this federal reporting requirement.
Yes. All earnings are taxed - FWS or not. During the academic year, while you are attending classes full-time, state and federal taxes are withheld from your pay, but FICA (social security tax) is not.
Initial Awarding (In-coming First-Year Students)
FAFSA submitted by recommended date Indicated an interest in FWS on Penn State application of admission Meet eligibility criteria Fall within index range for FWS awards: Index = (COA-EFC)/COA X 100 (FWS index 2022/23 = 97-80) Until funding is exhausted
Awarded by Exception
Request consideration through OSA review Meet eligibility criteria Have demonstrated federal financial need Fall within exception totals/campus Funding availability
How to Apply for a Federal Work-Study Position If you have been offered Federal Work-Study, you can on the Penn State Careers website. Search the job website: Filter your search by ‘campus’ and ‘federal work-study' to find the most appropriate opportunities for you. Positions are listed by job title with the most recently posted positions listed first. Each title is linked to a complete job description. Consider your academic interests, professional aspirations, position location, class schedule, and course load when determining if a position is right for you. Apply for a position: Once you have selected a position (or positions), apply directly from the job posting page by selecting ‘apply.’ The online application takes only a few minutes to complete. You can apply for a Federal Work-Study position at any time, but you must accept your Work-Study in LionPATH for consideration. When interviewing for Federal Work Study positions you should clarify expectations with the potential employer regarding either on/off-campus/in person or remote work arrangements. Other considerations: While the majority of positions are filled early in the fall semester, employers add jobs periodically throughout the year. Assume if a position is posted, the employer is still hiring. An offer of Federal Work Study does not guarantee a job position is available. Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants. *Please note: Federal Work-Study positions require you to be ‘hired’ by the University. One necessary step in this hiring process is for you to attend an I-9 Verification appointment in-person. At this appointment, you will be required to present original supporting documentation. Please consider this requirement and plan to have those documents available in their original form for that appointment.
The Penn State Discover Award is awarded annually to first-time, first-year domestic students who enroll at a Penn State campus other than Penn State University Park or Penn State World Campus for both the fall and spring semester immediately following their high school graduation. Undergraduate Transfer students who have attempted a minimum of 18 credits after high-school and enroll in a degree program that can be completed at a Penn State campus other than Penn State University Park or Penn State World campus are also eligible to receive a Penn State Discover Award.
Please review our Penn State Discover Award information and eligibility criteria.