HARRISBURG (TNS) — Eligible Pennsylvania college students could see a record-high maximum in state financial aid grants next year.
The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency’s board on Thursday voted to approve a grant funding formula that would boost the maximum amount by $750 to $5,750 in financial aid that does not have to be repaid.
That assumes $350 million in state funding will be included in the 2022-23 state budget – or a 12.8% increase — over the current year. If approved by the General Assembly, it would be the largest year-over-year dollar increase in the grant program’s 56-year history.
The formula also relies on using $20 million leftover from this year’s grant program resulting from fewer students applying for grants, among other factors.
Rep. Mike Peifer, R- Pike County, who chairs PHEAA’s board, referred to the $750 increase as a pandemic inflationary award intended to help alleviate some of the increased financial pressure that students and families experienced from the COVID-19 pandemic.
PHEAA’s board each year revisits the grant funding formula and sends out conditional award notices to grant applicants in the spring to help them with their financial aid planning for the next academic year. Final award notices are issued once the state budget is enacted.
The size of these need-based awards is determined by students’ family income and related circumstances as well as the cost of the school they attend.
Students going to private colleges, where tuition is higher, are eligible to receive the largest awards and those attending community colleges and some technical schools are eligible for the smallest.
The approved formula sets the maximum grant amounts for next year’s private college and university students at $5,750 maximum grant. Students attending Penn State, Pitt, Temple or Lincoln universities could receive up to $5,261.
The maximum grant award for those attending one of the State System of Higher Education universities, such as Shippensburg or Millersville, is $4,894, and those attending community colleges or technical schools that charge up to $12,000 are eligible for up to a $3,059 grant.
Peifer said the approved 2022-23 formula will allow an additional 9,000 students on the fringe of eligibility to receive an award, for an estimated total of 106,851 students. The agency reported last month that the number of students who completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is used to determine eligibility for state and federal aid, was down 10% from the previous year.
“The long-term financial benefits of the PA state grant program – especially in ability to reduce the need to borrow — cannot be underestimated,” Peifer said. “Our research shows that PA state grant recipients attending four-year colleges, who are also Pell-eligible, tend to borrow nearly $7,600 less over 4 years. This is significantly impactful in today’s challenging economy.”
He pointed out when the maximum state grant amount is combined with the $6,895 maximum Pell grant award for next year, the state’s neediest students will be eligible for up to $12,645 to cover a portion of their college attendance costs. That is helpful considering a new report by Self Financial indicates Pennsylvania has the nation’s second most expensive college tuition – behind only New Hampshire – with students paying an average net price of $20,477 for college tuition.
At a recent Capitol rally, Austin Miller, student government president at Marywood University, a private college in Scranton, said the state grant program provides a stepping stone to greater success in life for low- and low-middle-income students like himself.
“It impacts so many of us on a personal level and brings students closer to their dreams,” he said. “Without the grant program none of this would be possible and many more Pennsylvanians would be unable to attend college and pursue their dreams.”
