Pennsylvania State Grant Program FAQ

General

What is a grant?

A grant is a financial aid award that does not have to be paid back. The Pennsylvania State Grant Program provides grant awards to eligible Pennsylvania residents in need of financial assistance to help them afford the costs of higher education.

PHEAA administers the PA State Grant Program at no cost to taxpayers, ensuring that every dollar appropriated to the program goes directly to students.

State Grant Awards may be paid in part or in whole with funds provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Federal Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) program, or the Federal Special Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (SLEAP) program.

How do I apply and what is the deadline for State Grant applications?

First, file the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid); it also serves as your application for a PA State Grant. You must file it every academic year that you plan to go to school.

First-time applicants
After submitting your FAFSA—if you meet the PA State Grant Program eligibility requirements—PHEAA will ask you to provide additional information via the online State Grant Form.

  1. You will receive an email directing you to the PA State Grant Form on Account Access.
  2. Sign in or create an account with American Education Services, a division of PHEAA.
  3. Provide us with some basic information so we can quickly process your application for consideration.
  4. Print, sign, and mail your PA State Grant Form to PHEAA to complete the process.

Deadlines

  • First-time applicants: May 1 immediately preceding the academic year, if you plan to enroll in a degree program or a college transferable program. August 1 if you plan to enroll in business, trade or technical schools, hospital schools of nursing, or two-year non-transferable programs at other institutions.
  • Renewal applicants: May 1 is the deadline to submit your renewal FAFSA. To notify PHEAA of any changes such as marital status, reduced income, medical/dental expenses, or other life events, complete the appropriate State Grant Document.
  • Summer-term applicants: August 15 is the deadline for students attending classes during summer term who wish to apply for a Pennsylvania Summer State Grant.
How is a Pennsylvania State Grant award determined?

State Grant eligibility is calculated in accordance with the federal Need Analysis Formula and Pennsylvania State Grant policies.

Where can I find out more about financial aid?

There are some great, free resources available for you to use as you research ways to pay for school.

Right here at pheaa.org you will find:

The EducationPlanner.org website offers one of the largest, free scholarship search databases available on the Internet with more than 1.8 million awards worth almost $8 billion. The site also offers information on low-cost loans for you and your parents. Learn more at educationplanner.org.

Your school counselor is a treasure chest of information for planning your education after high school. They have information on schools, standardized test dates, scholarship information, FAFSA applications and much more. They should be available to answer your many questions about planning and paying for school.

College Financial Aid Officers are available at your school(s) of choice to answer your questions and provide information on school-specific awards and other financial aid information.

Your local library is a great resource for researching information on schools, financial aid and you can get your paper FAFSA applications there as well.

The U.S. Department of Education (www.ed.gov) has numerous websites that offer information on federal guidelines for student loans, as well as the FAFSA application website at www.fafsa.ed.gov where you can complete your application online.

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Eligibility

Am I eligible for a State Grant?

A Pennsylvania State Grant is based on financial need; however, the student must meet other requirements to qualify for a State Grant award.

View eligibility requirements.

Do I have to be a Pennsylvania resident to get a Pennsylvania State Grant?

Yes, you must be a Pennsylvania resident. The legal way to say this is: "the student must be a bona fide Pennsylvania domiciliary."

A student who is 18 years of age or older must be a bona fide domiciliary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the filing date of the FAFSA application (exclusive of any period of time the student spent while enrolled in a Pennsylvania postsecondary educational institution, if the student came into or remained in Pennsylvania for the purpose of attending a school or college).

A student who is under 18 years of age must have a supporting parent or guardian who has been a bona fide domiciliary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the filing date of the State Grant application.

What is "domicile" and what does it have to do with my State Grant??

Domicile simply means your true, fixed and permanent home; the place to which you plan to return whenever absent. You must have Pennsylvania domicile in order to get a State Grant.

Students who are born and raised in Pennsylvania and attend college in other states do not relinquish their Pennsylvania domiciliary status simply because they are temporarily in another state. However, a student is no longer eligible for a State Grant if he/she attends college out-of-state and registers to vote in that state.

Students who enter Pennsylvania to attend college are not considered Pennsylvania domiciliaries.

Pennsylvania military personnel are presumed to maintain their Pennsylvania domicile even though they are stationed out-of-state or overseas, unless the family has taken steps to become residents of that state or country.

What is the high school graduation requirement for State Grant aid?

A student must be a graduate of an approved high school, a graduate of an approved overseas Department of Defense High School, the recipient of a Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma (GED), or the recipient of a diploma issued by another state through the GED Testing Program.

Home-school programs
To meet the high school graduation requirement set by the Pennsylvania State Grant law, a high school diploma must be issued by one of the seven organizations currently recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to issue a high school diploma:

  1. Bridgeway Academy
  2. Buxmont Christian Educational Institute
  3. Erie County Homeschoolers Diploma Association
  4. Mason-Dixon Homeschoolers Association, Inc.
  5. Pennsylvania Homeschoolers Accreditation Agency
  6. Susquehanna Valley Homeschool Diploma Programs, Inc.
  7. Valley Forge Baptist Home Education Association

Alternatively, students who did (will) not receive a high school diploma from a PDE-recognized home-school organization may submit certification from the superintendent of their local school district that their home education complies with the Home Education law (24 P.S.13-1327.1).

Distance-learning or correspondence high schools
For students possessing a diploma issued by a distance-learning or correspondence high school, a Pennsylvania GED certificate and diploma must be obtained, unless your diploma was issued by one of the approved operating Pennsylvania Cyber Charter schools.

Foreign high school diplomas
If students have graduated from a foreign high school, they may become eligible for the State Grant program if they do one of the following:

  • Submit their foreign high school transcripts for evaluation to one of the Foreign Education Credential Evaluation Agencies listed at www.naces.org/members.htm. Do not send your foreign high school transcripts to the Pennsylvania Department of Education or to PHEAA. Or,
  • Obtain a Pennsylvania GED.

Find more information regarding the Pennsylvania GED:

  • Online: www.able.state.pa.us
  • In writing: Pennsylvania Department of Education, Commonwealth Diploma Testing Program, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333

Once you have obtained either your GED or Foreign high school transcript evaluation, please mail copies of the documentation to:

PHEAA
P.O. Box 8141
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8141

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Applying

My parents do not support me, so how do I complete the 2009-10 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)?

To be considered financially independent of your parents, you must meet one of the following conditions:

  • Have been born before January 1,1986.
  • Be a veteran or be currently serving in the military on active duty for purposes other than training.
  • Married.
  • A ward-of-the-court, orphan, or have been in foster care any time since turning the age of 13 or older.
  • Be an emancipated minor as determined by a court in your state.
  • Have been under the care of a legal guardian as determined by a court in your state of legal residence.
  • Have been an unaccompanied youth who is homeless after July 1, 2008 as designated by a school district homeless liaison, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development representative or a director of a homeless shelter/ transitional living facility.
  • Have legal dependent(s), other than a spouse, for whom you provide more than half of their support between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. Students with children should not indicate that they have a legal dependent unless they meet the stated support test.

If you cannot meet any of these requirements, PHEAA uses additional criteria to determine an applicant's financially independent status.

Students who are considered financially independent by the Agency for 2009-10 are processed without consideration of parental financial data. However, if you receive direct support from your parents, that support should be reported as money received, or paid on your behalf (e.g. bills) in your response to question 47j on the FAFSA application.

Does an applicant need to provide stepparent's information on the application?

The Federal and State Grant Programs require the stepparent's financial information if your birth parent remarried prior to filing the application, regardless of whether your stepparent directly assists you with your educational expenses. Your family does benefit from the stepparent's income; therefore, to properly reflect the income and assets used by your family to meet normal living expenses, you must report both parents' income and assets.

Do we have to report the value of our home when applying for State Grant aid?

No; however, the net worth (market value less indebtedness) of any second home or any other real estate investments are requested and must be reported.

Please note: Debt against your personal residence cannot be used when determining the net worth of your family's other investments.

Why do you use the family's adjusted gross income when you determine the amount of 2009-10 State Grant aid for the student? Families do not live on that income.

PHEAA uses 2008 adjusted gross income (AGI) in determining a student's eligibility for 2009-10 State Grant aid to ensure that applicants are processed in a uniform manner. The Agency does not use parents' (or student's and spouse's if married) net federal taxable income to determine eligibility.

If the Agency were to use the family's net federal taxable income—which is the income after deductions have been permitted for IRS purposes—then certain families would receive significant consideration for mortgage interest, real estate taxes, charitable contributions or other similar deductions. In effect, this practice may ultimately penalize families who are living frugally as compared to those families who are able to claim significantly more deductions thereby reducing their taxable income.

Consequently, the Agency feels that the most equitable manner in which to evaluate a student's need for State Grant aid is to use AGI. Also, the AGI is only one component of the Need Analysis calculation.

Does the Agency use retirement contributions as untaxed income when determining 2009-10 State Grant eligibility?

The 2009-10 Pennsylvania State Grant Program and federal financial aid programs require that families report all current sources of untaxed income, including tax sheltered contributions to retirement plans or deferred annuity contributions, whether they are voluntary or involuntary.

It is felt that applicants from families making voluntary contributions to retirement plans in addition to mandatory contributions would receive an unfair advantage, because those applications would then be considered on a lower family income than applications from other students where the families were not contributing to voluntary retirement plans.

On the other hand, in certain cases a voluntary contribution to a retirement plan may be as critical to a family's retirement as a mandatory contribution. For example, some families absolutely need to supplement either minimal work-related retirement plans or, in the case of self-employed individuals, must establish their own retirement plans.

Therefore, to ensure that State Grant applicants are processed on a uniform basis, the Agency determines the family's total taxed and untaxed income. The student's eligibility for State Grant aid is then determined with consideration to:

  • Available funding
  • The expected contribution from family income and assets
  • Aid from the Federal Pell program
  • The applicant's educational costs

All prior year contributions to approved retirement plans are sheltered from consideration.

Do you expect a contribution from parents' assets (or from student's and spouse's assets, if married and financially independent)?

It is important to keep in mind that any assets reported by a family on the 2009-10 application form should not include retirement account assets. The Agency also does not consider your personal home’s equity or NowU Investment Plan assets when determining eligibility.

The Agency permits families to subtract any directly related indebtedness from their assets before determining any expected contribution. For example, if a family owns an investment property with a market value of $50,000 and has a mortgage of $30,000 on the property, the Agency will use net assets of $20,000.

However, the investment property must be the property being held as collateral for the mortgage. If the debt is against your personal residence, this debt cannot be used when determining the net worth of your investment property or another investment your family may have.

The Pennsylvania State Grant Program follows the federal Need Analysis Formula where, in most cases, a portion of the family assets are sheltered. From the remaining assets, an expected contribution is expected based on family factors, such as the number of parents (or student and spouse, if married and independent), and the age of the parents (or student’s age, if independent).

Does the value of my Pennsylvania NowU 529 College Savings Program impact my State Grant?

No, the value of your NowU, the Pennsylvania 529 College Savings Program, formerly the PA tuition Account Program (TAP), is not considered in the determination of State Grant eligibility.

If any assets of this type have been included on your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or have been submitted to PHEAA in error, you must update the information by listing on your State Grant Form or by writing to us to correct the asset information.

When writing to us, please provide:

  • Your name and signature. Dependent applicants must also include a supporting parent's signature.
  • Social security or account number.
  • Specific corrections to the asset data, appropriate tax data, verification of nowU account, and an explanation for the change.
Does it matter if a family has more than one child enrolled in college for the 2009-10 academic year?

The Agency does consider the fact that two or more members of a family are enrolled in postsecondary institutions for the 2009-10 academic year when determining each student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

Does the Agency provide any special processing for veterans for the Pennsylvania State Grant Program?

If a student has engaged in active service in the U.S. Armed Forces or was a cadet or midshipman at one of the service academies, and was released under a condition other than dishonorable, bad conduct, uncharacterized, or other than honorable, the student is considered a veteran.

PHEAA disregards any EFC and Pell award you may have. This means that you will receive the highest Pennsylvania State Grant possible, based on the allowable college costs for the school you are attending.

Note: ROTC students, current cadets or midshipmen at service academies, and National Guard or Reservists who were not activated for duty other than training are not considered veterans for the 2009-10 academic year.

I plan to attend college during the 2009-10 academic year and just realized that I missed the State Grant filing deadline. What should I do?

Although you missed the State Grant filing deadline, you should submit your application as soon as possible. Applications from veterans and from applicants who have suffered a loss in expected family income due to the death, disability, retirement, or unemployment of a parent, or because the parents have been divorced or separated, will be considered until April 1, 2010 when any of these circumstances occurred recently (defined as after January 1, 2009).

The Agency may also reconsider the late status of an application if there were extenuating circumstances which delayed the filing of your application. If there are no special circumstances, your State Grant application may be processed for a portion of the academic year if, after the consideration of all applications which were received "on time," there are additional funds to continue processing applications.

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Online PA State Grant Form

Why do you send me to aessuccess.org to complete the online PA State Grant Form?

American Education Services (aessuccess.org) is a division of PHEAA. It's where we maintain our secure student portal and Account Access sign-in for completing the online PA State Grant Form.

Account Access also lets you view the status of State Grant, loan or other program applications.

Learn more about Account Access.

Important information about creating your online account.
When you set up your Account Access account at aessuccess.org, please use your name, social security number, and individual email address (not your mom's or dad's).

For security purposes, our system matches your social security number with your FAFSA data to verify it's you and to assign you a unique account id. So, if you create an account using a parent's social security number, it won't match your FAFSA data. And that means you won't be able to access your PA State Grant Form to apply online.

Why must I complete both the Pennsylvania State Grant Form and the FAFSA?

We use the State Grant Form to collect a few more details about you and your family that weren't on the FAFSA. This basic information helps us determine your eligibility and financial need for the Pennsylvania State Grant Program.

I've filled out the FAFSA so why am I getting a message that you don't have my FAFSA record?

There are several reasons why you might get this message:

  • Your social security number doesn't match. If you didn't use the same social security number to create your Account Access account and complete your FAFSA, we won't be able to match you to your FAFSA record (Please refer to the important information about creating your online account above).
  • You indicated that you are a graduate student. Students who already have a baccalaureate degree are not eligible for a Pennsylvania State Grant. If this was a mistake, you must update your FAFSA.
  • You just submitted your FAFSA online. If you completed your FAFSA within the last 24 to 48 hours, we probably haven't received your data yet. Please allow several days for processing time and then try again.
Why did my confirmation state my FAFSA is incomplete?

Most likely, you left some FAFSA questions blank (incomplete) since the Federal Program doesn't need the same data we need for the State Grant Program. FAFSA items most commonly left blank (incomplete) include the date you established your state of legal residence and the value of your cash, savings, checking, or investments.

Please check your FAFSA and provide information for any blank data or incomplete questions.

What if I haven't yet decided on a school or been accepted?

The State Grant Form requires you to provide the name of a school. If you're unsure, list your first choice. Then, when you make your final decision, you can update your college information online via Account Access.

Why am I getting a message that the application failed and is currently unavailable?
  • Routine maintenance. In general, we must bring the site down for routine maintenance. Actual times vary, but we typically do this on Sunday mornings before noon.
  • Unexpected technical difficulties. Unfortunately, unexpected technical difficulties could take us a few minutes to a few hours to resolve. We apologize for any inconvenience and ask that you continue to try accessing your online State Grant Form.
I'm a parent and have received emails; however, I have more than one child enrolled in college. How do I know which student the email is for?
If your email address is. . . Then. . .
Different than the dependent applicant's email address, You receive carbon copies (cc) of our emails.
The same for all members of your family, Your child who is applying for a Pennsylvania State Grant can sign in to Account Access for details about completing the online form.

Please note: To protect your personal information, our emails to you never include Social Security numbers, account ids, or other identifiers. If you receive an email asking for personal data without first signing in to our Secure Account Access portal, please contact us.

I filled out the form but now need to make corrections. What do I do?
  • If you need to make enrollment changes, sign in to Account Access and complete the online change of enrollment form, available under your Grant status.
  • If you haven't mailed your State Grant Form signature page—and the change isn't related to your college enrollment—make corrections directly on your form before mailing it.

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After You Apply

How do I make corrections to the information I reported on the State Grant application?

The Agency uses the data submitted on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to determine State Grant eligibility for the academic year.

Before receiving award payment
Before your State Grant has been paid to you, you may submit changes for review by Agency staff by:

After receiving award payment
To make corrections once your award has been disbursed to your institution, you must update your SAR and notify PHEAA of the changes by either:

  • Using your PHEAA eligibility notice to report changes, or
  • Sending corrections in writing to PHEAA, P.O. Box 8141, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8141
What do I do if I am not planning to attend the school listed on my State Grant eligibility notice?

If you are attending another school, you should notify State Grant and Special Programs. The best way to inform us is by using the online enrollment change form available through Account Access. The school that you do plan to attend can also update this information for you.

If you notify us in writing, please include the following in your correspondence:

  • The name of the school
  • Your housing status (dormitory, off-campus, or commuter)
  • Enrollment status (full- or part-time)
  • Your program of study if you are attending a business, trade, or technical school
  • Your social security or account number
  • Your signature

Mail this letter to:

PHEAA
P.O. Box 8141
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8141

Review your updated status online.
Sign in to Account Access and go to the “Applications & Status” section to check your State Grant record.

My family's income has been reduced; what should I do?

PHEAA provides special processing to students from families that have suffered a reduction in income as a result of:

  • Death
  • Total and permanent disability (unable to return to any work)
  • Retirement or other change in employment status
  • Separation or divorce
  • Loss of untaxed income

The Agency realizes that occurrences of this type significantly impact a family's ability to finance 2009-10 educational costs. Therefore, in cases where a parent has recently died (January 1, 2009 or later) or has recently become permanently and totally disabled (unable to work again), the Agency processes those applications for one academic year without regard to family income. The Agency's objective is to ensure that those needy students receive State Grant aid quickly.

Applications from students whose parents had a change in employment status, separated or divorced, or suffered a loss of untaxed income are processed on estimated 2009 income, since the Agency realizes that the 2008 income reported on the application no longer reflects the family's ability to finance educational costs.

Special processing may also be extended to those families with extraordinary, unreimbursed medical/dental expenses for 2008. Students may obtain reduced income forms or medical expense forms for families who have incurred extraordinary, unreimbursed medical expenses by:

  • Downloading them from the State Grant Documents page.
  • Contacting your school's financial aid office.
  • Calling State Grant and Special Programs at PHEAA at (800) 692-7392.

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State Grant Awards

If I receive a State Grant, how will funds be sent to me?

PHEAA sends State Grant funds directly to your school. Funds are disbursed to schools two or three times during the school year, depending on the term schedule of the school you attend (semester or quarter schedule) and will be credited to your account by the school after the school certifies your eligibility.

Can a PA State Grant be used at any school?

Many schools throughout the United States are approved for participation in the Pennsylvania State Grant Program. With certain limited exceptions, applicants attending institutions in Maryland, New Jersey or New York are not eligible.

Contact the PHEAA Regional Office in your area to find out if the school you are considering is approved for a State Grant.

Why do award amounts change for successive academic years?

The majority of those students who qualified in 2008-09 will qualify for 2009-10. It is important to understand that each academic year's awarding formula is based on three primary considerations:

  1. The appropriations provided for distributing awards.
  2. The number of applicants for State Grant aid.
  3. The financial strength of the families of those applicants.

The awarding formula specifically excludes home equity, retirement accounts, and NowU Investment Plan accounts from asset consideration. Students whose awards are reduced are receiving less aid because, in the vast majority of cases, one or several of the following factors have occurred:

  • Award adjustments were necessary to stay within available funding.
  • Family income increased between the filing of the two application forms.
  • Number of family members decreased.
  • Number of other dependents enrolled in college decreased.
  • Student is attending a lower cost institution.
  • Family had extraordinary, unreimbursed medical expenses that have not yet been reported.
Do applicants sometimes qualify for one academic year and not the next?

Each year a student must file an application and demonstrate financial need for a State Grant as well as continue to meet other eligibility requirements.

Parents' income, after adjustments, may have been more than the income reported in a prior academic year. Family factors such as the number of children enrolled, number of dependents, etc., for 2009-10 may have been less as compared to 2008-09 when the student was eligible.

Other examples of changes which might result in the student's ineligibility could include (but are not limited to) a housing or college change resulting in the use of lower educational costs and the student no longer demonstrating need for State Grant aid, or an increase in family assets.

I am enrolled in a five-year college program. How do I make sure that I can get aid for my fifth year?

All fifth year cooperative education students are notified of their potential eligibility at the beginning of the application processing period. Those that have not received maximum State Grant aid during their prior four years are eligible for additional State Grant aid. Other students in bona fide five-year programs should contact the financial aid administrator at their school to discuss eligibility for a fifth year of State Grant aid.

What are the 2009-10 maximum awards for in-state and out-of-state institutions?

Maximum grant awards are based on available funding, demonstrated financial need, and the allowable educational costs individual students are expected to incur at the institution they are attending.

  • In-state: While the current formula provides for awards up to $4,700 while attending an approved Pennsylvania institution, currently, the State Grant Program does not have sufficient resources to fully fund this amount. Therefore, adjustments to bring awards within the funding level are necessary. (Note: Annually, the maximum award is dependent upon available funding and subject to review and adjustment.)
  • Out-of-state: The current formula provides for maximum out-of-state grant awards of up to $400 (up to $600 if enrolled in a school located in a state that permits their students to carry their state grants to Pennsylvania) for non-veteran students for 2009-10. Veterans are eligible for maximum out-of-state awards of up to $800. Currently, the State Grant Program does not have sufficient resources to fully fund these award levels. Therefore, adjustments to bring awards within the funding level are necessary.

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To request more information on the Pennsylvania State Grant Program, visit the Contact Us page or call toll-free (800) 692-7392.

Sign In/Create Account to:

  • Apply for a PA State Grant
  • View State Grant Status
  • Update Address or School Info

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