The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency announced that, as a result of the passed Commonwealth Budget, the maximum PA State Grant award will remain at $5,750.

Thanks to a 4.8% increase in funding for the PA State Grant Program and an agreed-upon Fiscal Code Bill that will authorize PHEAA to transfer funding from a decommissioned scholarship program, PHEAA is able to maintain the maximum grant award from the 2022-23 academic year - which was and remains the highest maximum award in the history of the PA State Grant Program.

The recently passed State Budget also provides level funding for all Pennsylvania aid programs administered by PHEAA for Pennsylvania, including the PA Targeted Industry Program (PA-TIP) and the PA Ready to Success Scholarship (RTSS) Program. PHEAA covers all administrative costs of the PA State Grant and other student aid programs for the Commonwealth, in addition to self-funding the Agency’s public awareness and outreach mission, saving taxpayers $21.9 million last year.

“As members of the PHEAA Board, we are advocates for PA students and we are glad this outcome will help so many of them,” said Sheryl Delozier, PHEAA Board Member. “This funding for our students’ futures is the best-case scenario for them to receive the aid they so desperately need with no decrease in the maximum award amount. We extend our thanks to the General Assembly for standing by our students and their families.”

Each year, PHEAA’s Board reevaluates the awarding formula by analyzing several factors, including tuition costs, the effect of inflation on family incomes, the number of expected applicants, and the Governor’s recommended funding for the program as part of the budget proposal for the Commonwealth. It is PHEAA’s goal, when making their funding request to the PA General Assembly, to provide helpful aid to as many students as possible.