Eligility Criteria
The PA State Grant is offered to Pennsylvania residents who meet PHEAA’s eligibility criteria. You must meet the following conditions to be considered for this grant.
- Complete a Pennsylvania State Grant application by May 1
- For the 2024-2025 year, PHEAA extended the FAFSA submission deadline (FAFSA must be submitted) to June 1.
- For students that submitted their 2024-25 FAFSA after PHEAA's June 1 deadline, we encourage you to reach out to PHEAA directly to appeal and explain the circumstances that resulted in not meeting PHEAA's June 1st FAFSA filing deadline. Students should contact PHEAA directly to appeal.
- Be a Pennsylvania resident attending a Pennsylvania-based college or university
- Eligible students must be pursuing their first bachelor’s degree program in an approved program of study that is at least two years in length
- Be enrolled at least half-time (six or more credits)
- Have a PHEAA-determined qualifying expected family contribution
- Maintain PA State Grant academic progress (see below)
- The PA State Grant Progress Execption Form is available in the GrantUS portal under 'Supplemental Forms.' Any student requesting PHEAA to make an exception to their PA State Grant Academic Progress Policy will need to complete the appeal form.
GrantUS
PHEAA is updating their system for the 2024-2025 cycle to the GrantUS platform. Students will receive an email from GrantUS with account creation and log-in instructions. Students should then change their password and enable multi-factor authentication. First time students will be prompted to complete the PA State Grant form; renewing students will be advised of next steps. Visit pheaa.org/GrantUS for additional updates and information.
PA State Grants are listed on financial aid offers as 'estimated' until we receive the updates from PHEAA.
PHEAA has training resources available to learn how to use their new GrantUS platform on their website.
General PA State Grant Information
- A PA State Grant alone will not cover tuition and fees.
- Students enrolled in a summer semester may apply for a summer PA State Grant.
- Continuing students must submit the FAFSA for each academic year they plan to enroll to be reviewed for the PA State Grant.
- Changes in financial circumstances in future academic years can change a student’s eligibility or grant amount.
- The PA State Grant is applied to your student account balances after the add/drop period for your latest-starting course is complete.
- Students who register for a 7B course will receive their PA State Grant after the 7B add/drop period ends. Refer to the academic calendar for the term-specific dates.
- Students are still responsible for their balances. SFS cannot remove late fees and registration holds that may result from delayed PA State Grant disbursement.
PA State Grant Resources
Please see below for helpful videos on PHEAA's state grant process on their new platform, GrantUS. More videos are available on PHEAA's YouTube channel, PHEAAStudentAid.