Published July 24. 2025 02:45PM
The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency encourages Pennsylvania students who are planning to enroll in a community college, a designated Pennsylvania Open-Admission institution, a business, trade or technical school, a hospital school of nursing to submit their Free Application for Federal Student Aid by Aug. 1.
“The PA State Grant Program is a need-based grant that does not need to be repaid,” said James Steeley, PHEAA president and CEO. “It is important that students exhaust every opportunity for gift aid, such as a grant, before turning to borrowing student loans. We want to ensure that students who aren’t enrolling in a traditional four-year degree program submit their FAFSA by Aug. 1 in time to qualify for a PA State Grant award.”
Once the FAFSA is submitted, students needing to complete the PA State Grant application items, or supply any supplemental documentation, will have until the academic year student reconsideration deadline (April 1, 2026, for the 2025-26 award year).
Students will be unable to submit their PA State Grant application if they have not submitted their FAFSA. If a student misses the Aug. 1 filing deadline, they are still encouraged to apply.
Video tutorials explaining the student aid process and types of aid available can be found at YouTube.com/PHEAAstudentAid.