FAFSA campus selection dilemma: How to select Penn State Commonwealth campus instead of University Park?
Just found out my daughter got accepted to Penn State Altoona (yay!!), but I'm totally confused about the FAFSA/federal loan process. When I go to studentaid.gov to request the federal loans, it only gives me the option to select Penn State University Park (main campus). There's no dropdown or anything to pick Altoona or any other commonwealth campus! Has anyone dealt with this before? Do I just select University Park even though she'll be at Altoona? I'm worried her financial aid will get sent to the wrong place or there will be delays processing everything. The tuition bills are due in a couple months and I'm getting anxious about this. Thanks for any help!
24 comments
Join the conversation
Caleb Bell
You can just select the main campus (University Park) on the FAFSA. Penn State uses a unique system where all federal aid is processed centrally through the main campus first, then distributed to whichever commonwealth campus your daughter will attend. The PSU system knows which campus she's enrolled at from her student record, so the funds will be allocated correctly. Just make sure her student ID is correctly entered in all systems.
0 coins
Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Thank you so much! That's a huge relief. So I don't need to contact financial aid or do anything special to make sure it goes to Altoona?
0 coins
Danielle Campbell
i had this same issue last yr when my son went to behrend! just pick university park, the $ goes to main campus then they send it to whatever campus ur kid is at. penn state is weird like that lol
0 coins
Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Thanks for sharing your experience! That makes me feel better knowing it worked out for your son. Did you have any delays or issues with the funds transferring to the right campus?
0 coins
Danielle Campbell
•nope no probs at all! money showed up on time on his bill at behrend. just make sure u keep checking the psu portal where they show the bill
0 coins
Rhett Bowman
This is a common question for Penn State families! Penn State operates as a single university system for federal financial aid purposes, despite having multiple campuses. Here's what happens: 1. Always select "University Park" on FAFSA and loan applications 2. The central financial aid office receives and processes all federal aid 3. They distribute it to the specific campus based on your daughter's enrollment 4. Your daughter's campus code is automatically linked to her PSU ID No need to worry about selecting the specific commonwealth campus on the FAFSA itself. Just make sure your daughter's student portal shows she's correctly enrolled at Altoona.
0 coins
Abigail Patel
I HATE how confusing Penn State makes this!!! I spent THREE WEEKS trying to figure this out when my daughter got into Harrisburg campus. Kept getting shuffled between financial aid offices, no one could give me a straight answer, and I almost missed deadlines because of it. The system is ridiculous - why can't they just list ALL their campuses on the FAFSA like normal schools??? 😡
0 coins
Rhett Bowman
•The frustration is understandable! The issue is actually with how the federal system is set up - Penn State is registered as a single institution with the Department of Education despite having multiple campuses. Other multi-campus universities face similar issues. It's not a Penn State decision, but rather how the federal FAFSA system categorizes institutions.
0 coins
Abigail Patel
•That may be true but they could at LEAST make it clear on their website! I called their financial aid office 8 times and got disconnected or put on hold forever each time. When I finally got someone they acted like I was stupid for not knowing this.
0 coins
Daniel White
Have u tried calling the financial aid office directly? Sometimes they can manually update which campus the funds go to. Better to check now than have problems later IMO
0 coins
Kaitlyn Jenkins
•I tried calling twice now but both times I was on hold for over an hour and eventually had to hang up. Their phone system is so frustrating! I'm going to try again tomorrow.
0 coins
Nolan Carter
•If you're struggling to get through to Penn State's financial aid office, I'd recommend trying Claimyr. I was in the same situation last semester and spent days trying to reach someone. Claimyr got me connected to an actual person at FSA in less than 20 minutes when I'd been trying for days on my own. They have a video demo that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. The website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. Seriously made dealing with FAFSA so much less stressful.
0 coins
Natalia Stone
congrats on your daughters acceptance! altoona is a nice campus, my nephew goes there. dont stress about the fafsa thing, everyone gets confused by it lol
0 coins
Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Thanks! She's really excited about Altoona. Does your nephew like it there? This will be our first college experience so everything seems complicated right now.
0 coins
Caleb Bell
One additional tip: make sure you're checking your daughter's Penn State email and student portal regularly. The financial aid office will send important notifications about any additional steps needed, and these communications go to her PSU email, not your personal email. Some commonwealth campus students miss important deadlines because they don't realize this.
0 coins
Kaitlyn Jenkins
•That's a great reminder! She's been checking her email but I'll make sure she's vigilant about it. Is there a specific section in the student portal where we should be looking for financial aid updates?
0 coins
Caleb Bell
•Yes, have her log into LionPATH (the student portal) and look for the Financial Aid tile. Within that section, there's a tab for "To Do List" items that might require action. Also check the "Aid Year Information" section which will show all aid packages by campus. This all appears after you've been offered aid.
0 coins
Danielle Campbell
btw one other thing - make sure ur checking both the fafsa website AND the penn state financial aid page. sometimes they need extra verification docs but only tell u on the psu site not the fafsa site. almost messed us up last year
0 coins
Kaitlyn Jenkins
Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! Just to confirm what I'm understanding: 1) It's normal to only see University Park as an option on the FAFSA, 2) I should select that even though she's attending Altoona, 3) The money will automatically be directed to the right campus, and 4) We should keep checking both her PSU email and the student portal for any additional requirements. This makes me feel so much better!
0 coins
Rhett Bowman
•You've got it exactly right! Just one more tip - if your daughter plans to transition from Altoona to University Park after her first two years (as many students do with the 2+2 program), you won't need to make any changes to future FAFSA applications. The system will automatically adjust as her campus enrollment changes in the Penn State system.
0 coins
Haley Bennett
As someone who just went through this process with my son at Penn State Beaver, I can confirm everything everyone is saying here! The confusion is totally normal - I was panicking about the same thing last fall. Just select University Park on all your federal aid applications and don't second-guess it. The Penn State financial aid system is actually pretty efficient once you understand how it works. Your daughter's aid will show up correctly on her Altoona campus bill. The only thing I'd add is to take screenshots of all your FAFSA submissions just in case you need to reference them later. Good luck and congratulations to your daughter!
0 coins
Lilly Curtis
•Thanks so much for sharing your experience with Penn State Beaver! It's really reassuring to hear from someone who just went through this. The screenshot tip is brilliant - I never would have thought of that but it makes total sense to have that documentation. Did you run into any other unexpected steps in the process that caught you off guard?
0 coins
Sean Flanagan
I'm new to this whole FAFSA process and seeing all these responses is so helpful! My daughter just got accepted to Penn State Mont Alto and I was having the exact same confusion about the campus selection. It's such a relief to know that selecting University Park is the correct thing to do even when your student will be at a commonwealth campus. I was worried I was doing something wrong! Quick question though - when we eventually need to apply for loans for future years, do we continue to always select University Park, or does that change if she transfers to the main campus through the 2+2 program?
0 coins
Liam Duke
•Welcome to the FAFSA journey! You'll always select University Park on the FAFSA regardless of whether your daughter stays at Mont Alto or transfers to University Park through the 2+2 program. The Penn State system handles all the campus routing automatically based on where she's actually enrolled each semester. So even if she does transfer to main campus later, you won't need to change anything on future FAFSA applications - just keep selecting University Park every year. The financial aid office tracks her enrollment location internally and sends the funds to the right place. One less thing to worry about!
0 coins