PA Summer State Grant Program

The PA Summer State Grant Program allows eligible students taking summer courses to receive a PA State Grant for the summer term. The online application is available between mid-March and August 15 for the current year's summer term.

Am I Eligible?

The PA Summer State Grant eligibility requirements are generally the same as those for the academic year PA State Grant. The enrollment requirement differs slightly due to shorter summer sessions.

Read all PA Summer State Grant Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the PA Summer State Grant Program, you must be enrolled on at least a half-time basis (defined as at least 6 credits per semester, or the equivalent). If you are enrolled in a school or program that does not operate on a year-round curriculum, your enrollment during the summer term may be as short as 5 weeks of instruction and no less than 6 semester credits (or the equivalent). Non-consecutive modules may be combined to meet the 5-week, abbreviated term length requirement for the summer term only.

If you are enrolled at a school in which you are not degree seeking for the summer term (for example, ABC Community College), you may complete the PA Summer State Grant Application using that school. However, this does not guarantee that you will receive a PA State Grant award even if you are initially awarded since:

  • The summer term credits must transfer to the school in which you are degree seeking (for example, University ABC).
  • The school in which you are enrolled for the summer period must be participating in the PA State Grant Program for the summer and be willing to process awards for students who are not degree seeking at their institution.
  • Both your home school and the school in which you are not degree seeking must be PA State Grant approved since only participating institutions can verify compliance with eligibility requirements.

You should follow up with the financial aid offices at both schools to confirm eligibility.

A PA State Grant awarded for the summer term is included in the maximum number of payments for which a student may be eligible. By law, students are limited to the number of PA State Grant payments needed to complete the program in which they are enrolled (for example, two full academic year grants in a typical associate degree program at a community or junior college) unless special circumstances exist. Students enrolled in a PA State Grant–approved program at business, trade, or technical schools are limited to the number of terms for which the program has been approved. All students are limited to the equivalent of four academic year PA State Grant awards (unless enrolled in a "bona fide" 5-year program). Be sure to talk to your financial aid administrator if you have questions.

Before You Apply
If your school is not found on the PA Summer State Grant application, it means they do not participate in awarding summer PA State Grants. Please contact the financial aid office at your institution if you have questions.

How Do I Apply?

Submit the online PA Summer State Grant application by August 15.

Apply Now

If You Have… Then…
Not completed the FAFSA® (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) in this calendar year
  • Complete the FAFSA online at FAFSA on the Web.
  • Submit the online PA Summer State Grant application by August 15.
Completed the FAFSA in this calendar year Submit the online PA Summer State Grant application by August 15.

After You Apply

We review your application for eligibility based on the information in your PA State Grant Record. Then, beginning in June, we email instructions to view your PA Summer State Grant application status in Account Access.