When would admitted students expect to receive notifications about scholarships / merit aid? Would that also be included in the financial aid package for Penn State? Finally, has anyone received any merit aid yet?
There doesn’t seem to be a thread on this forum yet, so I will start this thread for anyone to post updates on merit aid / scholarships.
@blazinamazin2023 , the exact timing of merit and need based aid escapes me. But I dread telling aspiring Penn Staters how stingy PSU is with aid. The main merit based scholarships go to Schreyers honor school students and that doesn’t cover a lot. Average merit scholarship is less than $6K. If you look back through posts from previous years, you’ll see this as a major downside of PSU.
I encourage to assume you will get nothing and then you’ll be pleasantly surprised if you do.
Here’s a link to the common data set to see how much PSU offers typical freshman.
https://budget.psu.edu/CDSRedesign/cds.aspx?reportindicator=finaid&Location=BR&AY=20172018
@Sophley Thank you for the information. Did you think that Penn State’s financial aid package made up for the low merit aid given out?
@blazinamazin2023 , PSU does not meet 100% of financial need. They supposedly only meet 64% of need and their financial aid packages include loans so it’s not exactly free money like a grant is. We didn’t qualify for aid so I can’t really answer your question exactly. The best option would be to run the net price calculator and run it by your parents. Now that I have kids in college, I wish we had settled down in the south where in-state (or state related) schools aren’t so expensive.
@Sophley Thanks again for your help. When would we expect to receive a complete financial aid package?
PSU is one of the worst for in state costs and aid. Run the net price calculator if you haven’t yet.
My daughter got in last year, but didn’t choose to attend.
With a 1410 SAT and 4.26 GPA, she wasn’t given even a dime of merit aid as an out-of-state student.
I’m not complaining, just letting you know so that your expectations can be realistic.
PSU is a notoriously stingy university as far as aid goes. But the individual colleges do give merit aid. My niece is a junior in the Ag college and she got 100% of her tuition covered. But she’s also a 4.0 student in college.
Run the NPC on the fin aid page to give you an idea. It likely won’t change much from that.
@jlhpsu Will individual colleges give additional merit aid when you are an undergraduate (in addition to what you have already received)? If so, is it dependent upon your academic performance, or is there an application process for these merit aid awards?
I think that the individual colleges offer them once you are a student dependent on your academic performance.
When should we expect to receive our financial aid package?
Typically within 10days of admission but with the new EA system may not follow this pattern.
@MYOS1634 Are financial aid notifications sent through mail only, or are they also updated through MyPennState?
I think they appear in the portal. Typically all there is, is the federal loans. Schreyer scholarship is automatic if you’re admitted but you only learn in March.
@MYOS1634 Are you ever emailed or mailed scholarship or financial aid notifications?