UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State urges its students at all campuses across Pennsylvania to complete their U.S. Census by the fast-approaching deadline — Sept. 30. 

Students’ responses to the Census make a difference in the communities where they live as students. By completing the Census in the place where students live most of the year, students are positively impacting funding for important community resources, including education, health care, transportation and other vital resources.

It is important that students respond to the Census using the address they did live or should have lived at on April 1, 2020, regardless of where they were actually living due to COVID-19 restrictions. This response is per Census guidelines, which indicate that college students should be counted where they reside or would have resided for the majority of their time.  

Responding online or by phone takes only about 10 minutes. An accurate Census count is vital and helps to ensures that federal funding is properly allocated to communities for the next 10 years, which in turn impacts the student experience on campuses in these communities. 

To facilitate this information, Penn State has provided the Census with directory information about local student addresses as they would normally have been on April 1, 2020. Students can respond online or by phone to verify this information and to input other details.

The U.S. Census is a count of every individual living in the United States as of April 1, and is taken once every 10 years.

To learn more about the importance of the Census, tune in to the Pennsylvania Governor's Advisory Commission on Asian-Pacific American Affairs "Counted and Ready to Vote" virtual town hall on Sept. 17, noon-1:15 p.m. at facebook.com/pagacapaa.