Applying for Financial Aid: Summer 2025

For first-time students:

1. Create a FSA ID

2. Submit the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by June 30, 2025* using your 2022 Federal Income Tax information.

*Note that our recommended filing date is December 1, 2024 for first time students.

For continuing students:

If you have already submitted your FAFSA for the Fall 2024 and or Spring 2025, you will not need to re-submit the application.

1. Schedule all the courses you intend to take during Summer Session(s).

2. Monitor your Financial Aid Summary on LionPATH in late April for notification of your remaining summer eligibility.

Parent access to student information in LionPATH is called Delegated Access. Delegated access gives parents, guardians, or other individuals access to view:

• class schedule

• enrollment verification

• financial aid

• holds

• to do list

In order for our office to share information regarding your financial aid with your parent/guardian, they are required to have Delegated Access.

Students are responsible for setting up delegated access in LionPATH and for determining which areas the individual can access. For help on how to use delegated access, visit the '' online tutorial.

To log in, access the page.

When a student does grant you delegated access, you need to accept the invitation for delegated access before you can log into the account

Verification is a federal regulation that requires colleges and universities to verify the information provided by students and parents on the FAFSA. We will notify you via your Penn State email if you have been selected for verification. You can find prompts in the "To Do List" located on the Student Home Base when you log into LionPATH.

Things to consider

• Your eligibility will be determined once you have scheduled all of your classes for summer.

• Your federal aid eligibility may be limited if you have already used the aid in the Fall and Spring semesters.

• Review your summer cost information for Summer Session to determine if you will need to apply for additional funding.

**If your aid has not been offered by the time your bill is produced, contact our office for a review of your record.

Types of aid you can expect for the summer:

Federal Pell Grant

The Office of Student Aid will automatically determine your eligibility for a summer Pell Grant. If you are eligible, your grant will appear on your Financial Aid Summary on LionPATH and as a credit on your summer tuition bill.

Federal Work-Study (FWS)

To be eligible for Federal Work-Study, continuing students will need to be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credits and had work-study during the Fall 2024 and/or Spring 2025 semesters.

If you did not have work-study in the Fall 2024 or Spring 2025, but are enrolled in a minimum of 6 credits for the summer and are interested in a work-study position, please contact the Office of Student Aid to inquire if you would be eligible to receive work-study for Summer 2025.

PA State Grant (Pennsylvania residents)

If you wish to use the PA State Grant for Summer 2024, you must complete the available on the PHEAA website by August 15, 2025.

• Summer PA State grants will be credited to eligible student accounts at the end of July. All students must make payment arrangements without the PA State Grant. The Office of Student Aid is responsible for reviewing all preliminarily eligible Summer PA State Grant recipients to ensure they meet all of the summer PA State Grant Agency basic requirements (enrolled at least half-time, academic progress review, repeated coursework review, 5 week enrollment requirement review).

• It is possible the PA State Grant Agency will preliminarily approve a student's summer PA State Grant application prior to the school's PA State Grant requirement check.

• Eligible students receive 8 total full-time semesters of the State Grant throughout their academic career. Using the grant during the summer semester can take away potential fall or spring eligibility later.

• If you are graduating or are in your next-to-last semester, enrolled for 9 to 11 credits, and receiving the PA State Grant, you may be eligible for a full-time grant. This exception to full-time enrollment is intended to permit continued eligibility for students who normally enroll full-time, but only need to complete 9 to 11 credits during one of the terms of their final year of study. If you would like to be considered for this PA State Grant exception, please complete the :

Federal Direct Loans

You may be eligible for the Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan if you have not received the maximum amount of Federal Direct Loan eligibility during the previous fall and spring semesters, or have increased in grade level (i.e. first year to second year). Most students use their annual limit of Federal Direct Loan eligibility during the fall and spring semesters of the academic year.

You will be awarded once you become enrolled at least half time (6 credits) unless you declined your Federal Direct Loans during the prior fall and/or spring semesters. If you declined your loans, you will need to contact our office to request the loans be awarded for summer.

Borrowers will need to accept the Direct Loan in LionPATH under the Finances section by clicking on "Accept/Decline Awards". Once you choose an aid year, you can update totals, click on the loans that you wish to accept, and hit submit.

If you are a first time borrower, in addition to accepting your loans in LionPATH, you will also have to go to studentaid.gov, sign in using your FSA ID, and complete the following requirements:

Choose "Complete Entrance Counseling":

• Select 'I am an undergraduate student' or 'I am a graduate/professional student'.

• Continue until you receive a confirmation that you successfully completed Entrance Counseling.

• You can choose to view and download your completed Counseling Verification from the confirmation page.

• If you selected Penn State in the School and Loan Information section, our office will be notified electronically that you completed Entrance Counseling, typically within 3 to 5 business days.

Choose 'Complete Master Promissory Note (MPN)':

• Click on 'MPN for Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans' if you are an undergraduate student and click on 'PLUS MPN or MPN for Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans for Graduate/Professional Students' if you are a graduate or professional student.

• Continue until you receive a confirmation that you successfully completed the MPN.

• Our office will be notified electronically that you completed your MPN, typically within 3 to 5 business days.

If you experience technical problems completing Entrance Counseling or e-signing your MPN, contact the U.S. Department of Education's Student Loan Support Center at 800-557-7394.

Federal Direct PLUS Loan - Available late April for Summer

If you need additional funding and are enrolled at least half time, your parent(s) or you, if you are a graduate or professional student, may want to consider a Federal Direct PLUS loan. For further information on the PLUS visit:

Private Alternative Loans - Available late April for Summer

If you are an independent student who is ineligible for federal or state student financial aid or have remaining financial need, you may apply for Private Alternative student loans through private lenders.

Dependent students typically need a creditworthy co-signer on their loan application. Independent students may or may not need a creditworthy co-signer on their loan application.

The maximum private alternative loan amount you can request is your total cost of attendance, minus all other student financial aid listed on your Financial Aid Offer on LionPATH.

Summer private alternative loan term dates: May to August 2025

For information on accessing your bill or paying your statement, visit the

.

If your financial aid exceeds your total charges, you may receive a refund. Students should sign up for eRefund on LionPATH to expedite the refund process.

Summer refunds will be generated close to the beginning of Summer Session II. After an eRefund has been generated by Penn State to your financial institution, the process may take up to 3-5 business days before it will appear as a credit in your account.