The Pennsylvania State Grant Program is administered by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). It provides grant assistance to undergraduate students that are enrolled in at least a two-year program, who are Pennsylvania residents, and who are enrolled at least half-time (6 credits or more each semester). Eligibility is based on financial need as determined by PHEAA, and awards for the 2022-2023 academic year range between $500 and $5,750. Reduced tuition cost must be reported to the agency and may result in adjustment to the grant amount. Recipients must also be Pennsylvania high school graduates or have a Pennsylvania GED. Receipt of PA State Grant assistance may not exceed the equivalent of eight semesters of full-time awards. The filing deadline for the FAFSA and the Pennsylvania State Grant Form is May 1. (http://pheaa.org/funding-opportunities/state-grant-program/forms.shtml).
PA State Grant recipients who have received two full-time semesters of awards must complete 24 credits. Satisfactory academic progress for PA State Grants is checked in August, for the prior academic year. Part-time students who received a part-time PA State Grant the prior year must generally complete 6 credits for each semester of part-time PA State Grant aid. Fall semester PA State Grants to not disburse to student accounts until typically the third or fourth week of the fall semester, once satisfactory academic progress checks have been completed.
Students residing outside Pennsylvania should contact their state Department of Higher Education for grant information and can visit fafsa.gov to see their FAFSA state aid deadline.