Student Financial Aid

Philosophy of Student Aid
Student aid provides the means to permit eligible students the access to a postsecondary education that otherwise would not be possible. Generally speaking, the student's family is expected to be the primary means of support for meeting college costs. However, when that is determined insufficient, student aid can be the resource to assist in costs for the student's education.

To understand the concept of student aid, one must understand where, what, and how it is generated. There are four sources of assistance: Federal, State, Institutional, and Private/External. Within these sources there are four types of assistance: grants, scholarships, employment programs and loans.

• The Federal (Title IV) financial assistance programs include the Pell Grant, the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Work Study Program (FWSP) and the Federal Family Educational Loan Programs (FFELP).  
• State funding is awarded by the state grant agency in which the student lists as their domicile. PHEAA (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency), in Harrisburg, is the state agency for Pennsylvania residents.
• Institutional funds may be in the form of a University Grant, a University Loan, a University based scholarship or a Penn State Greater Allegheny scholarship.
• Private/External funding may come from a variety of agencies, foundations and organizations which make money available to qualified students attending a college or university. These funds could be in the form of grants, loans and/or scholarships.

• Pell Grant - Federal program (U.S. Department of Education).
• PHEAA Grant - State grant program (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency).
• Federal SEOG Grant - Federal program (U.S. Department of Education).
• University grants - awarded by the university to high need students.

Academic Scholarships: These are awarded to academically achieving students. Scholarships do not have to be repaid.

• University scholarships are awarded from general university scholarship funds, individual college scholarship funds, departmental scholarship funds and campus scholarship funds.
• Visit the Penn State Greater Allegheny Campus Scholarship Page.

Work Programs: Work programs assist students in meeting personal expenses. 

• Federal Work Study Program - Federal program (U.S. Department of Education).
• PHEAA State Work Study Program - Federal program (U.S. Department of Education).
• Current students should log in to the eLion system to view a list of Penn State Greater Allegheny's federal work study jobs.

Loans: These are awarded to families with some resources. All loans must be repaid. Most students applying for financial assistance will have some loan debt.

• Federal Stafford loan - Federal program (U.S. Department of Education).
• Federal PLUS loan - Federal program (U.S. Department of Education).

The Office of Student Aid at University Park centrally administers all of the student financial aid programs for the Penn State University which would include the University Park campus and all of the Commonwealth Campuses, including Greater Allegheny.

How to Initiate the Student Aid Process
Each student seeking any type of financial assistance, grants, scholarships, work study programs and loans must have both an application of admission on file and a current year Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Each year during the month of January the Coordinator of Financial Aid at Penn State Greater Allegheny, Robert Heyl, conducts seminars on the campus for those students and families who may be unfamiliar with the FAFSA form. At the seminars the FAFSA application is reviewed line by line in an effort to have you better understand why a certain question may be asked, but most importantly to insure that you have completed the application correctly to avoid problems at a later date. You may inquire about attending one of the seminars by contacting the Penn State Greater Allegheny Office of Student Aid during the months of November or December at 412-675-9160.

During the academic year, Mr. Heyl also conducts Student Aid Night presentations at various local high schools. These sessions are designed to give general information about college costs and the types of financial assistance that is available. If your organization, PTA, senior class or guidance office would like to be informed about the financial aid process and aid availability, you may contact Mr. Heyl, at 412-675-9160, to conduct a presentation for your students and their families.

The FAFSA must be filed in order to be considered for all types of assistance at Penn State Greater Allegheny. The FAFSA forms or Renewal FAFSA’s, for students who are current recipients of federal aid, are generally mailed to the student’s permanent home address during the month of December. Students are encouraged to complete the application between January 1 and May 1, remembering that Penn State’s recommended filing date is February 15 in order to be considered for Campus Based Aid programs. It is recommended that both the parents and the student complete their Federal Income Tax form prior to completing the FAFSA as it makes reference to specific line items from the tax form.

Penn State will begin mailing Campus Based Award notifications during the month of April to first year students and during the month of June to upper-class students. First year students will receive their award notifications early so to assist them in finalizing selection of their choice of college for the fall.

If you answered “Yes” to the loan question on the FAFSA, Penn State will estimate your loan eligibility under the Federal Stafford Loan Program and include this information on your Campus Based Aid Award Notification. The student will be required to sign the Master Promissiory Note (MPN) and complete Entrance Counseling prior to disbursement of the loan. Upon receipt of the completed application, PHEAA will approve the loan and transmit the funds electronically to Penn State.