What's Next?

If you are applying for a 2024 summer term PA State Grant award, please follow this guidance.

Students

Federal Student Aid (FSA) has changed the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). These changes will also impact the PA State Grant Program.

Next Steps to Apply for a PA State Grant

HOW DOES THE NEW FAFSA FORM IMPACT MY PA STATE GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS?

This year, the release of FAFSA data to schools and state agencies was delayed until mid-March. This delay meant that we did not know who submitted a FAFSA until the transmission process started.

Once you submit your FAFSA, it may take 5-10 business days for standard processing; in some cases, it may take longer than anticipated. We will notify you via email when we receive your student data from the FAFSA. The email will invite you to join our new platform, GrantUs, to complete your PA State Grant application items.

HOW CAN I COMPLETE THE PA STATE GRANT APPLICATION?

Good news! FSA will transmit your FAFSA data to our new GrantUs system, so we'll already have most of the information we need.

Once we have your FAFSA information:

  • GrantUs will automatically create your student profile. PA students that completed a FAFSA will receive an email from NoReply@grantus.pheaa.org with instructions to create your password and set up your GrantUs account. We will send this communication to the email address you provided on the FAFSA.
  • Once you create a GrantUs account, you will find the State Grant Form and High School Form in your Action Items list. First-time applicants must complete both forms as soon as possible. Typically, renewal applicants do not need to complete these forms. Learn more about the eligibility requirements, program deadlines, and commonly asked questions for the PA State Grant.
    • If you have not completed the 2024-25 FAFSA or created a GrantUs account, you will not be able to apply for the PA State Grant.
  • We will communicate award updates for the 2024-25 academic year and all future years through your GrantUs account. If we need more information to assess your eligibility, we will send another email asking you to log in to GrantUs and review our request.

    NOTE: Keep your GrantUs email address current. This is critical to receive timely communications and updates about your eligibility before the deadline.

HOW DO I RENEW MY PA STATE GRANT?

After you complete your 2024-25 FAFSA, wait for an email from PHEAA inviting you to create your account in GrantUs. The email will come from NoReply@grantus.pheaa.org. You must activate your account. After that, you should not need to complete any additional application items.

If we need more information from you, we will send another email asking you to log in to GrantUs and review our request.

HOW DO I SET UP MY GRANTUS ACCOUNT?

You will not be able to set up a GrantUs account until PHEAA receives your FAFSA data. Once we have your FAFSA information, GrantUs will automatically create your student profile.

We will send an email to the address you provided on the FAFSA with account activation details. To complete your account activation, you will select a password and set up multi-factor authentication using either Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator. All users must download one of these two authenticators in their web browser or mobile device to access GrantUs.

WHAT IS THE DEADLINE TO COMPLETE MY FAFSA FOR THE PA STATE GRANT?

The deadline varies based on your situation. Learn more about our deadlines.

WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION ABOUT MY ELIGIBILTY FOR 2024-25?

We will communicate award updates for the 2024-25 academic year and all future years through your GrantUs account. If we need more information to assess your eligibility, we will send another email asking you to log in to GrantUs and review our request.

NOTE: Keep your GrantUs email address current. This is critical to receive timely communications and updates about your eligibility before the deadline.

I WANT TO APPLY FOR A SPECIAL PROGRAM. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

The special programs that we administer are not available in GrantUs at this time. Many of the programs will require that you submit a FAFSA. We encourage you to complete that as soon as possible!

Learn more about our special programs and how to apply under Funding Opportunities in the main menu navigation.

WHY HAVEN'T I RECEIVED A GRANTUS ACTIVATION EMAIL YET?

We are only sending activation emails after we receive and process your FAFSA data. If you have not completed your FAFSA, do so as soon as possible!

We are also using a slower roll-out procedure to ensure everyone activating GrantUs has adequate support and resources. Any PA student who has submitted their FAFSA will receive an activation email—but it may take us a few days. Please be patient.

If you still cannot find your GrantUs email, here are some tips:

  • Monitor the inbox of the email address you used to complete the FAFSA
  • Check your spam or other folders for emails from PHEAA
  • Look for an email sent from NoReply@grantus.pheaa.org
WHAT IF I NEED TO UPDATE MY FAFSA?

If you need to make changes to your 2024-25 FAFSA, log in to StudentAid.gov and make the corrections there. We will receive your updated FAFSA information from FSA in another data transfer.

Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate enrollment change requests from students until later this summer.

Parents & Contributors

If you contributed information to a student's FAFSA, you may need to provide additional information for us to evaluate the student's eligibility for the 2024-25 PA State Grant Program.

We will notify your student through GrantUs if we need additional information from you.

You will only have access to view and adjust the information we specifically requested in GrantUs. You will not have access to view or adjust any other information on behalf of the student.

In the 2024-25 award year, we are transitioning to GrantUs—a new platform developed to support the administration of the PA State Grant and Special Programs.

Students and organizations will use GrantUs to apply and manage eligibility for PHEAA-administered aid programs, such as:

We are working to add each of these programs into the new platform and expect to have each program launched in GrantUs by the end of 2024. The initial program we are adding is the PA State Grant Program. As we launch programs in GrantUs, we will update the corresponding program webpages to announce what you should do to apply for the 2024-25 award year. In the meantime, follow the instructions on the specific program pages to understand what to do for 2024-25.