Federal Grants

The Federal Pell Grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and awarded to students with demonstrated financial need. Grants do not need to be repaid. Pell Grant amounts are based on the number of credits for which you are enrolled and adjust accordingly.

Beginning in the 2012-13 academic year, students may receive the Pell Grant for up to 12 full-time semesters or the equivalent.

The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds a student may receive over their lifetime is limited by a federal law and is the equivalent of six years of Pell Grant funding. Since the maximum amount of Pell Grant funding a student can receive each year is equal to 100 percent (150 percent if you enroll in the fall, spring, and summer semester), so the six-year equivalent is 600 percent. For more information, visit Student Aid on the Web's Calculating Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used.

Award

• Maximum Pell Grant award for 2024-25 is $7,395

Eligibility

• Meet Federal and Penn State Financial Aid Eligibility Requirements

• Must be an undergraduate student who has not yet completed a first bachelor's degree

• Enrollment at Pell Census Date

Monitoring

Holds will be placed prior to the beginning of each semester to check for federal grants (and loans) that may have been used at another institution. It is a requirement that we check all students to prevent over-certification of federal funds.

Beginning with the 2024-25 award year, students who meet the eligibility requirements for a Federal Pell Grant under the Special Rule in HEA Section 401(c) will receive a maximum Pell Grant award, regardless of their calculated SAI.

To receive a Pell Grant based on eligibility under the Special Rule, a student must be:

• The child of a parent or guardian who died in the line of duty while either (a) serving on active duty as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces on or after September 11, 2001; or (b) actively serving as and performing the duties of a public safety officer; and

• Less than 33 years old as of the January 1 prior to the award year for which the applicant is applying (e.g., for the 2024–25 award year, a student must be less than 33 years old as of January 1, 2024, to be eligible).

The following define a public safety officer:

• Law enforcement officer

• Firefighter

• Member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employee

• Emergency management or civil defense agency employee

• Chaplain

• Others defined in Section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968

Acceptable documentation may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• A copy of the servicemember’s DD Form 1300 (Report of Casualty) which documents death in the line of duty.

• A copy of the servicemember’s DD Form 214 and death certificate, documenting that the date and cause of death occurred during and as a result of active duty.

• A copy of a Department of Veterans Affairs Death Narrative Document.

• A determination letter acknowledging eligibility for certain federal benefits under the Public Safety Officers Benefit (PSOB) program administered by the Department of Justice.

• A written letter of attestation or determination made by a state or local government official with supervisory or other relevant oversight authority of an individual who died in the line of duty while serving as a public safety officer.

• Documentation of the student qualifying for a state tuition or other state benefit accorded to the children or other family members of a public safety officer.

• Other documentation the school determines to be from a credible source that describes or reports the circumstances of the death and the eligible occupation of the parent or guardian.

The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant is awarded by the Office of Student Aid to students with demonstrated high financial need.

Eligibility

• Meet Federal and Penn State Financial Aid Eligibility Requirements

• Must be a Federal Pell Grant recipient

Due to limited funding, not all students who are eligible will receive this award.For maximum consideration, submit your FAFSA by Penn State’s recommended submission deadlines (select appropriate award year). Award amounts may vary based on funding level.

The TEACH grant is federally funded and awarded by our office to eligible students who intend to teach in public or private elementary or secondary schools that serve students of low-income families.

Eligibility

• Meet Federal and Penn State Financial Aid Eligibility Requirements

• Be enrolled in or plan to complete coursework in teaching

  • Current undergraduate programs that meet this criteria are:

    • World Languages – French (WL ED; FR)

    • World Languages – German (WL ED; GER)

    • World Languages – Latin (WL ED; LATIN)

    • World Languages – Russian (WL ED; RUS)

    • World Languages – Spanish (WL ED; SPAN)

    • Secondary Math (SECED; MATH)

    • Math in Eberly (MTHBS; TEACH)

    • Math at Behrend (MTHBD; MTHED)

    • Secondary Biology (SECED; BI SC)

    • Biology at Abington (SECAB; BI SC)

    • Secondary Chemistry (SECED; CHEM)

    • Secondary Earth & Space Science (SECED; E SP)

    • Secondary Physics (SECED; PHYS)

    • Physics in Eberly (PHYS; TEACH)

    • Special Education (SPLED)

  • Current graduate programs that meet this criteria are:

    • Reading Graduate Program (C I)

• Maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA in required course work

• Complete the TEACH Grant Counseling and sign the Agreement to Serve

Award

• Maximum $4,000 per year

Failure to complete the required teaching service obligation will result in the TEACH grant converting to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

Pell Recalculation

The Pell census date (sometimes referred to as Pell recalculation date) is a date each semester when the Office of Student Aid is required to evaluate Pell Grant eligibility.

The amount of Federal Pell Grant you are eligible to receive is based on your enrollment status at the census date:

• At Penn State, the census date occurs after the drop period for Fall and Spring semesters.

• If your enrollment status changes before this date, we will adjust the amount of your Federal Pell Grant.

• In order to receive the maximum Pell Grant, we encourage you to finalize your course schedule by each semester's census date

• If you drop a course before census date, your award will be reduced.

• Courses added after census date will not count toward Pell eligibility.

NOTE: If you initially enroll for the semester after the Census Date for that semester, your official Census Date will be the date when you enroll.

Verification and Census Date

While updates to your FAFSA may change the Pell Grant award amount based on a change to the SAI, it does not change the award amount based on enrollment.

Example: If you were awarded a full-time Pell Grant at the census date, and you drop to 9 credits after the census date, your official Census Date will be the date when you enroll and the number of credits scheduled that day.

Monitoring Federal Aid

While it implies that only transfer students are monitored, all students records will be reviewed to verify that you have not been awarded more than your yearly (or lifetime) limits.

We must also monitor to be sure that you have not used your Federal Aid eligibility at another school during the same academic period. If this occurs, a hold will temporarily appear on the homepage of your LionPATH account indicating that you have been flagged for “Transfer Monitoring”.

In most cases, the hold will appear in LionPATH for about a week and will be released.

If your record shows that you have aid pending at another school, you will want to contact them to have it cancelled. Once it's cancelled, we can allow the funds to disburse at Penn State.

If your record shows that you have aid disbursed at another school, our office will review and adjust your aid as appropriate to keep you within federal limits.