Affordability

Most Penn State Greater Allegheny students qualify for financial aid programs to help ease the financial burden associated with completing a college degree. In addition, there are many awards and scholarships that help make a Penn State Greater Allegheny education affordable. In fact, up to 88% of our students receive some form of financial aid.

Nittany Lion Shrine

The Discover Penn State Award

The Penn State Discover Award is an award for undergraduate first-time, first-year students, and transfer students who enroll in a degree program at a Penn State campus other than University Park or the World Campus.

There is no additional application to be considered for the Penn State Discover Award. We evaluate students for this award based on your admission and financial aid information.

Penn State Discover Award
Students on the Buck Lawn

Penn State Commonwealth Award

The Penn State Commonwealth Award is offered annually to first-time, first-year students who are residents of Pennsylvania and enroll at a Penn State campus other than Penn State University Park or Penn State World Campus for the fall semester immediately following their high school graduation. Transfer students are not eligible to receive the award.

There is no additional application to be considered for the Penn State Commonwealth Award. We evaluate students for this award based on your admission and financial aid information. While other forms of financial aid can be combined with the Penn State Commonwealth Award, the Penn State Discover Award and the Penn State Commonwealth Award cannot be combined.

Penn State Commonwealth Award
Student Community Center

Campus Scholarships

Penn State Greater Allegheny provides numerous merit-based campus scholarships to incoming first-year and transfer students. All incoming students are automatically considered for campus scholarships. Awards range in value and are renewable by maintaining a specific cumulative GPA. Campus scholarships may be funded by institutional, endowed, or annual awards and may not be combined with Discover or Provost awards.

Scholarships and Awards
Students at a club fair

Special Funds and Benefits

  • Complete Penn State
    The Complete Penn State scholarship helps students who are within 30 credits of graduation (within 15 credits for an Associate Degree program) and are either currently enrolled or who have walked away from their studies due to an unanticipated financial barrier to complete their degrees at Penn State.
     
  • Veterans' Benefits
    Penn State Beaver values its veteran students. You can find information about services and benefits for veterans on our veterans page.
     
  • Housing Awards
    Penn State's LiveOn Student Success Grant is available to Pennsylvania residents who want to live on campus but can't afford it. The need-based grants supported by Penn State Housing and Food Services (HFS) aim to assure student undergraduate academic success, persistence to undergraduate degree completion, and address potential housing and food insecurities throughout a student’s four-year academic career.

    Students from Pittsburgh who have a Pittsburgh Promise Scholarship will be given a $1,000 housing award per semester.
     
  • Student Emergency Fund
    The Student Emergency Fund is designed to provide limited, non-tuition financial help to students facing an emergency situation, such as a family member’s job loss, illness, or death; a student’s own sudden illness; an automotive breakdown for a commuter student; or other unexpected need. Emergency funds do not cover books. The hope of the Student Emergency Fund is to prevent students from abandoning their dream of earning a Penn State degree in the face of difficult personal and financial circumstances due to no fault of their own. Awards do not need to be repaid.
student smiling

Additional Resources

Knowing that many families are anxious about how to pay for a college education, Penn State's Financial Literacy site provides a wealth of information covering everything from saving to budgeting to loan repayment strategies. The site offers different learning modules and even has a mentoring program to connect alumni with students.

Penn State Greater Allegheny's Financial Aid page pulls together everything that a prospective or current student needs to know about paying for their education and who to contact for help.