Pennsylvania State Grant Program FAQ
- How do I apply for a State Grant?
- How can I qualify for a State Grant?
- Does a federal student loan default affect my eligibility for State Grant aid?
- What is the high school graduation requirement for State Grant aid?
- Does the Pennsylvania State Grant Program have any residency (domicile) requirements?
- What is domicile?
- Our family is stationed outside Pennsylvania due to a military assignment but our home of record is Pennsylvania. Are we considered residents (domiciliaries) of Pennsylvania?
- My parents do not support me, so how do I complete the 2008-09 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)?
- Does an applicant need to provide stepparent's information on the application?
- Do we have to report the value of our home when applying for State Grant aid?
- Does the Pennsylvania 529 College Savings Program impact my State Grant?
- I plan to attend college during the 2008-09 academic year and just realized that I missed the State Grant filing deadline. What should I do?
- Does the Agency provide any special processing for veterans for the Pennsylvania State Grant Program?
- I plan to attend school on a part-time basis while working full-time. Am I eligible for a State Grant?
- How do I make corrections to the information I reported on the State Grant application?
- What do I do if I am not planning to attend the school listed on my State Grant eligibility notice?
- Can a State Grant be used at any school?
- Why do you use the family's adjusted gross income when you determine the amount of 2008-09 State Grant aid for the student? Families do not live on that income.
- Does the Agency use retirement contributions as untaxed income when determining 2008-09 State Grant eligibility?
- What is the maximum income limitation for 2008-09?
- My family's income has been reduced; what should I do?
- I am an independent student paying my own bills, so how is my 2008-09 application considered?
- Do you expect a contribution from parents' assets (or from student's and spouse's assets, if married and financially independent)?
- Does it matter if a family has more than one child enrolled in college for the 2008-09 academic year?
- What are the 2008-09 maximum awards for in-state and out-of-state institutions?
- Why do award amounts change for successive academic years?
- Do applicants sometimes qualify for one academic year and not the next?
- If I receive a State Grant, how will funds be sent to me?
- I am enrolled in a five-year college program. How do I make sure that I can get aid for my fifth year?
- Where can I find out more about financial aid?
- For what other kinds of aid might I be eligible?
1. How do I apply for a State Grant?
You must file the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) for the academic year during which you plan to attend school. The FAFSA also serves as your application for a Pennsylvania State Grant. This application must be received by May 1 immediately preceding the academic year, if you plan to enroll in a degree program or a college transferable program.
All renewal applicants must file by May 1. Nonrenewal applicants may file by August 1 if planning to enroll in business, trade or technical schools, hospital schools of nursing, or two-year terminal programs at other institutions.
2. How can I qualify for a State Grant?
A Pennsylvania State Grant is based on financial need; however, there are other requirements that must be met. The student must:
- Be a graduate of an approved high school or have a GED.
- Be a PA resident for at least 12 months before applying for a State Grant.
- Attend a PHEAA-approved school and be enrolled in an approved program of study of at least two academic years in duration.
- Be enrolled for at least six credits as an undergraduate. Graduate students and students who have previously completed the requirements for a baccalaureate degree are not eligible for a State Grant.
- Earn, through classroom instruction, at least 50% of the total credits/clock hours required for completing the program of study.
- If a prior State Grant was received, be maintaining satisfactory academic progress.
- Not be in default or pending default on an educational loan (or awards converted to loans).
3. Does a federal student loan default affect my eligibility for State Grant aid?
Students who have defaulted (or have a claim of default pending) on any educational loan guaranteed or reinsured by the federal government, state government or institution are not eligible for State Grant aid. This also applies to programs where awards have been converted to loans due to failure to meet all eligibility or service requirements and the loan is in a default status.
4. 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 accredited by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to issue secondary school graduation credentials for postsecondary school admittance:
- Bridgeway Academy
- Buxmont Christian Educational Institute
- Erie County Homeschoolers Diploma Association
- Mason-Dixon Homeschoolers Association, Inc.
- Pennsylvania Homeschoolers Accreditation Agency
- Susquehanna Valley Homeschool Diploma Programs, Inc.
- Valley Forge Baptist Home Education Association
Alternatively, students who did (will) not receive a high school diploma from an approved 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).
Military GED and graduates of foreign, distance-learning, or correspondence high schools
If the student received a military GED, is a graduate of a foreign high school, or has graduated from a distance-learning or correspondence high school, a Pennsylvania GED certificate and diploma must be obtained and submitted to the Agency in order to fulfill the high school graduation requirement. Information can be obtained:
- Online - www.able.state.pa.us
- In writing - Pennsylvania Department of Education, Commonwealth Diploma Testing Program, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
- By phone - (717) 787-6747
Students possessing a foreign high school diploma may either obtain a Commonwealth Secondary Diploma or submit their 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.
5. Does the Pennsylvania State Grant Program have any residency (domicile) requirements?
To be eligible for State Grant aid a 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 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. Students attending out-of-state institutions and registered to vote in a state other than Pennsylvania are considered to be a domiciliary of that state.
Domicile (residency) means your true, fixed and permanent home - the place to which you plan to return whenever absent. 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. Likewise, 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. However, a student is no longer eligible if he/she attends a college out-of-state and registers to vote in that state.
To be considered financially independent of your parents, you must have been born before January 1,1985, be a veteran, married, a ward-of-the-court or orphan, or have legal dependent(s) other than a spouse for whom you provide MORE THAN HALF OF THEIR SUPPORT. Students with children should not check 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.
9. 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, both parents' income and assets must be reported.
10. 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.
11. Does the Pennsylvania 529 College Savings Program impact my State Grant?
No, a 529 account is not considered in the determination of State Grant eligibility. If any assets of this type have been included on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid or have been submitted to PHEAA in error, you must submit corrections on either a State Grant Status Notice or on your State Grant Notice of Eligibility in accordance with the instructions provided on those forms. Otherwise, you should notify State Grant and Special Programs at PHEAA in writing and provide your name, signature, social security or account number and specific corrections to the asset data, and an explanation for the change. Correspondence from dependent applicants must also include a supporting parent's signature.
To request more information on the Pennsylvania State Grant Program, visit the Contact Us page or call toll-free at (800) 692-7392.
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, 2009 when any of these circumstances occurred recently (defined as after January 1, 2008). 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.
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 2008-09 academic year.
Part-time students must be enrolled on at least a half-time basis (a minimum of six semester credits but less than 12 credits or the equivalent per semester) during a specific term in order to be considered for State Grant aid. If sufficient need is demonstrated, part-time grants are calculated at one-half of the applicant's eligibility for a full-time award.
15. 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:
- Signing in to Account Access to update selective demographic items
- Correcting your Student Aid Report (SAR) which you will receive from the U.S. Department of Education
- Correcting information on a State Grant Status Notice
- Submitting correspondence directly to PHEAA, P.O. Box 8141, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8141
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
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.
17. Can a 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. You may contact the PHEAA Regional Office in your area; they will be able to tell you if the school you are considering is approved for a State Grant.
The Agency does not use parents' (or student's and spouse's if married) net federal taxable income in determining a student's eligibility for 2008-09 State Grant aid. PHEAA uses 2007 adjusted gross income (AGI) in order to ensure that applicants are processed in a uniform manner. 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 adjusted gross income. Also, the AGI is only one component of the Need Analysis calculation.
The 2008-09 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 were 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.
20. What is the maximum income limitation for 2008-09?
Effective with the 2006-07 academic year, a new methodology for determining need has been implemented which, while still based on demonstrated financial need, will no longer focus eligibility on a maximum income limitation. Instead, State Grant eligibility will be calculated in accordance with the federal Need Analysis Formula and State Grant policies.
21. 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
- 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 2008-09 educational costs. Therefore, in cases where a parent has recently died (January 1, 2007 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 2008 income, since the Agency realizes that the 2007 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 2007. 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 Forms page.
- Contacting your school's financial aid office.
- Calling State Grant and Special Programs at PHEAA at (800) 692-7392.
22. I am an independent student paying my own bills, so how is my 2008-09 application considered?
Students who are considered financially independent by the Agency for 2008-09 are processed without consideration of parental adjusted gross income. However, if you receive direct support from your parents, that support should be reported in your response to Worksheet B.
It is important to keep in mind that any assets reported by a family on the 2008-09 application form should not include retirement account assets. The Agency also does not consider home equity or 529 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.
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).
The Agency does consider the fact that two or more members of a family are enrolled in postsecondary institutions for the 2008-09 academic year when determining each student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
25. What are the 2008-09 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 2008-09. 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.
26. Why do award amounts change for successive academic years?
The majority of those students who qualified in 2007-08 will qualify for 2008-09. It is important to understand that each academic year's awarding formula is based on three primary considerations:
- The appropriations provided for distributing awards.
- The number of applicants for State Grant aid.
- The financial strength of the families of those applicants.
The awarding formula specifically excludes home equity, retirement accounts, and 529 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.
27. 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 2008-09 may have been less as compared to 2007-08 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.
28. If I receive a State Grant, how will funds be sent to me?
State Grant funds are sent 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.
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.
30. 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 5 Steps to Financial Aid to help you through the financial aid process.
- FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) information, resources, and tips.
- Online applications for all of Pennsylvania's grant, scholarship, and work-study programs, and our Keystone Family of student and parent loans.
- You can also contact our customer service representatives toll-free at (800) 692-7392 or email your questions about the Pennsylvania State Grant to granthelp@pheaa.org and student loans to studentloans@aesSuccess.org.
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.
31. For what other kinds of aid might I be eligible?
There are many different types of financial aid programs and each has its own criteria for determining if a student is eligible. Some programs are based on financial need (grants) and others are based on outstanding academic or other types of achievement, such as athletics, music, etc. (scholarships); the money awarded by these programs usually does not have to be paid back. Students may also borrow money to pay their educational costs; these loans must be paid back at specified interest rates after the student completes the program or terminates enrollment. Work-Study awards are payments earned by students who work at jobs arranged for them on campus or off campus.
To request more information on the Pennsylvania State Grant Program, visit the Contact Us page or call toll-free (800) 692-7392.