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Scholarships & Financial Aid

The College of Education offers a variety of scholarships thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends. A single online application serves as the application for all general scholarships offered through the College. There are also scholarships opportunities available for enrichment opportunities (study abroad, student teaching awards, etc.) by separate application or nomination processes.

Eligibility

Students must be enrolled, or planning to enroll, in an academic major in the College of Education for the coming academic year (Fall 2020, Spring 2021).

Documenting Financial Need

Nearly all College of Education scholarships require you to establish and document your degree of financial need. Penn State recognizes only one determiner of financial need: the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

In order to establish and document your financial need at Penn State, you must complete and submit the FAFSA (www.fafsa.ed.gov) in accordance with instructions from the Penn State Office of Student Aid. (International students attending Penn State on an education visa are eligible to submit a FAFSA and, therefore, are eligible for need-based scholarships.)

We strongly recommend that First-year students file the FAFSA by December 1. Graduate students and returning undergraduate students should file the FAFSA by May 1.

Applying for College-wide and Academic Department Scholarships

The information you provide on the application creates an individual profile that identifies to the College which scholarship(s) you are eligible to receive. You will be considered for all College-wide and academic department scholarships for which you are eligible.

The receipt of a College or academic department scholarship does not prevent you from receiving University-wide scholarships for which you may also be eligible.

Conditions for Scholarships

Recipients are selected based on the preset criteria established for each scholarship. If you are selected for a scholarship, you will be notified of the criteria you must meet in order to remain eligible for the scholarship. If you fail to continue to meet the criteria, your scholarship may be canceled.

University employees receiving educational privileges are not eligible for University scholarships/awards, with the exception of endowed/annually funded sources specifically established for the benefit of employees. See HR36 and HR38 for details.

Notification of Scholarship Awards

Efforts are made to award scholarships prior to July 1 for the upcoming academic year, but scholarships are also made throughout the year as well. If you have been awarded a scholarship before June 15, you will be notified through your Penn State e-mail account asking you to confirm the mailing address to which we should send the notification letter. If an award is made during the academic year, you will be notified via your Penn State email address.

If you do not receive a scholarship, your application will be kept on file for the rest of the academic year, and your application will be reconsidered if additional funds become available.

Because of the high volume of applications, we will only notify those who are selected to receive scholarship funding.

Disbursement of Scholarship Money

The College of Education expects all scholarship recipients to write a thank-you letter to their donors, should they be living, or to the Scholarship Committee, should the donors who established the scholarship be deceased. Detailed instructions for writing thank-you letters are included with scholarship notification letters.

Scholarship money will be disbursed to student bursar accounts after classes start in the fall.

After your thank-you letter has been received, monies have been disbursed into your account, and all other University charges have been met, you may receive a refund for the residual balance to meet other education-related expenses.

Questions regarding your University account should be directed to the Bursar's Office, 103 Shields Building, University Park, PA 16802 or 814-865-6528