Student Loans and Scholarships

Aid Disbursements

Grants
Federal Pell Grant
The Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
The National Science & Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART)
PHEAA State Grant
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
Scholarships
Private Scholarships
University Scholarships
Loans
Federal Perkins Loan
Federal Direct Stafford Loan
Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
Private Alternative loan

Our office is responsible for the disbursement of aid into the student account. The majority of the disbursements our office controls come from grants, scholarships, and loans. All disbursements will be credited to your Bursar account and applied toward institutional charges, such as tuition, fees, and room and board. Funds remaining after charges have been satisfied will be refunded. If you have questions regarding the awarding of these funds, please contact the Office of Student Aid.

On occasion, adjustments are made to a student's account.

Grants   Back to Top

A grant is gift aid that does not have to be repaid. Grants are awarded based on financial need, enrollment status, family contribution, and cost of attendance. Grant recipients must maintain certain eligibility requirements in order to retain the grant. The most common grants disbursed by our office are:

• Federal Pell Grant
• The Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
• The National Science & Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART)
• PHEAA State Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

More information on grants

Federal Pell Grant   Back to Top

The Federal Pell Grant is awarded to undergraduate students who have high financial need and are working on their first bachelor's degree. Each individual award is based on expected family contribution and number of credits the student is scheduled for.

More information on the Federal Pell Grant

The Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)   Back to Top

Available for the first time for the 2006-2007 school year, the Academic Competitiveness Grant is awarded to first and second year undergraduate students who are eligible for a Federal Pell Grant and who had successfully completed a rigorous high school program.

More information on the Academic Competitiveness Grant

The National Science & Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART)   Back to Top

The National Science & Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant is available during the third and fourth years of undergraduate study to full-time students who are eligible for the Federal Pell Grant and who are majoring in physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, technology, or engineering, or in a foreign language determined critical to national security.

More information on National Science & Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant

PHEAA State Grant   Back to Top

The PHEAA State Grant is state-funded gift aid awarded by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) to undergraduate Pennsylvania residents who demonstrate high financial need. The grant is based on financial need and enrollment status: full-time (12 or more credits) or half-time (6 credits).

Students who are Non-Pennsylvania residents may be eligible to receive state grant funding from their respective state of residency.

More information on the PHEAA State Grant

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant   Back to Top

The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant is federally funded gift aid awarded to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need who are working on their first bachelor's degree. Students must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credits).

More information on the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

Scholarships   Back to Top

Many students receive scholarships to be used towards the payment of their educational costs. The two types of scholarships administered by our office are private scholarships and university scholarships.

More information regarding scholarships

Private Scholarships   Back to Top

Organizations, agencies and donors offer scholarship opportunities to students who demonstrate scholastic merit or meet other specific eligibility criteria. In most cases, the agency awarding the scholarship, not Penn State, is responsible for selecting the candidate and determining the value of the award.

Checks and award notifications for private scholarships should be sent to the Office of Loans and Scholarships, 108 Shields Building, University Park, PA 16802. Students receiving scholarship checks made payable to both the student and Penn State need to make sure the check is endorsed before submitting it to our office.

Checks received by our office without proper endorsement will not be processed. For students attending University Park campus, an e-mail will be sent requesting them to come to 103 Shields to endorse the check. Students attending another campus will have their check mailed to their campus to collect endorsement.

Students who receive a private scholarship that is not reflected on their electronic bill may claim the scholarship by selecting "Request changes to my bill" and noting the changes within the explanation box. Once you have made these changes, they will be submitted to the Bursar's Office for reveiw. You will receive a response from the Bursar's Office via e-mail. If all charges are covered, the bill will be processed and the scholarship will be credited to the student account once funds are received by our office.

More information on private scholarships

University Scholarships   Back to Top

Many different units award university scholarships at Penn State. The Office of Student Aid, Campuses, Colleges, and University Offices all select scholarship recipients. Awarding and eligibility for university scholarships will vary based on the scholarship. Questions regarding the awarding and eligibility criteria of a specific university scholarship should be directed to the unit responsible for that scholarship.

More information on university scholarships

Loans   Back to Top

Because funds are limited, many students are not awarded grants or scholarships and must use loans--borrowed money that must be repaid with interest--to cover college costs. Undergraduate and graduate students as well as parents of undergraduate students may borrow money for education.

Below are the different types of loans our office disburses:

• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal Direct Stafford Loan (Subsidized and Non-Subsidized)
• Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
• Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
• Private Alternative Loan

More information regarding loans

Federal Perkins Loan   Back to Top

The Federal Perkins Loan is a low-interest loan (5%) available to both undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate high financial need.

Our office is responsible for the disbursement of each Federal Perkins Loan as well as the collection of the loan once the borrower enters repayment.

More information on the Federal Perkins Loan

Federal Direct Stafford Loan    Back to Top

The Federal Direct Stafford Loan is a low interest loan for both graduate and undergraduate students. There are two types of Federal Direct Stafford Loans: Subsidized and Unsubsidized.

Subsidized

• Government pays the interest while the borrower is in school
• Loan is awarded on the basis of financial need

Unsubsidized

• Borrower has the option to pay the interest while in school or allow it to capitalize
• Loan can be awarded to students without financial need

Our offices' responsibility regarding the Federal Direct Stafford Loan is as follows:

• Disbursement of the loan into the student account
• Notification (via e-mail or paper) to each student regarding each loan disbursement
• Returning of loan funds to the borrower's lender

More information on the Federal Direct Stafford Loan

Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan   Back to Top

The Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) is a loan where the parent, not the student, is the borrower.

Our offices' responsibility regarding the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan is as follows:

• Disbursement of the loan into the student account
• Notification (via paper) to parent regarding each loan disbursement
• Returning of loan funds to the borrower's lender

More information on the Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan

Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans   Back to Top

The Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan is available for eligible graduate students who need funding beyond the Federal Direct Stafford and Federal Perkins Loans.

More information on Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans

Private Alternative Loan   Back to Top

Unfortunately, the aid sources mentioned above sometimes are not enough to cover a student's educational costs. Due to this, some students may require funding from alternative lenders to allow them to obtain enough aid to cover their educational costs.

For students who obtain a private alternative loan, our office serves as the disbursing agent of that loan into the student account. The Loans and Scholarships Office is also responsible for returning private alternative loan funds back to lenders for students who refuse the money or who are no longer eligible for the funds.

More information on Private Alternative Loans

This information is available in alternative format upon request