PHEAA PA State Grant delay for 2025-2026 - anyone else still waiting?

same boat here. my son's fafsa was done in january and still nothing from pheaa. tried calling but gave up after being on hold for 45 mins yesterday

This is definitely happening to more PA families than usual this year. PHEAA is processing applications about 3-4 weeks behind their normal schedule due to the FAFSA changes and system integration issues. The good news is that most schools understand this delay and will work with you if your tuition deadline is approaching. Make sure you've also completed the PA State Grant Form on the PHEAA website in addition to the FAFSA - sometimes families miss this step and it causes delays. Also check that your FAFSA information was successfully transferred to PHEAA by logging into your account at pheaa.org.

DEFINTELY contact Penn State!! My daughters aid package came thru last week after literally 3 months of waiting. The weird thing is that her roomate applied after her and got her PHEAA approval like 6 weeks ago. The system is totally messed up this year with the new FAFSA

Not to worry too much, but maybe its cuz ur daughters info got flagged for verification? My son got his PHEAA notice late cuz there was an income verification thing we had to submit extra documents for. Did u check if there's any messages in her account about verification?

I've been trying to reach PHEAA for weeks about this same issue for my junior at Bloomsburg. The phone system is absolutely useless - disconnects or keeps you on hold forever. I finally got through to an actual human yesterday using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They connected me to a PHEAA rep in about 15 minutes instead of the hours I wasted trying on my own. The rep confirmed they're massively backlogged but was able to check my daughter's specific application and tell me it was in final processing. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - definitely worth it after weeks of frustration.

This is happening across many states, not just PA. The FAFSA delays have created a domino effect on state grant processing nationwide. Here's what you need to know: 1) Most PA state grants are being processed 3-4 weeks later than the typical June notification timeline 2) Schools are aware of this issue and many have procedures for temporary credits 3) PHEAA is processing applications in batches rather than continuously this year 4) Applications with special circumstances or unusual income situations are taking even longer My recommendation is to contact both PHEAA directly AND your financial aid office. The school can often place a temporary hold on your tuition bill while waiting for the grant to process. Also, make sure you've checked if your Expected Family Contribution (now called the Student Aid Index or SAI) falls within the PHEAA grant eligibility range.

LOL welcome to the wonderful world of financial aid!!! Wait till you get to the part where they notify you AFTER tuition is already due!! This system is COMPLETELY BROKEN and no one seems to care that families are left hanging until the last minute. My daughter's sophomore year we didn't get the PHEAA grant notice until 2 days before tuition was due. TWO DAYS!!! And then they had decreased it by $700 from freshman year with ZERO explanation! Good luck dealing with this mess...

do u have access to ur kid's school portal? sometimes the school actually knows bout the pheaa grant before u get the official email. my son's temple account showed the PA grant amount like 10 days before we got the actual PHEAA email

Just to follow up on a few things mentioned in this thread: 1. The PHEAA delays are affecting almost all of the approximately 142,000 PA students who typically receive state grants 2. Penn State and most PA universities have established special procedures this year to accommodate these delays 3. Unlike previous years, PHEAA is processing in larger batches rather than continuously, which is why some students who applied later might receive notices before those who applied earlier 4. Most students should receive their state grant notices by the end of July, though some may extend into early August 5. If you're concerned about meeting payment deadlines, request a temporary deferment from your university's bursar office specifically citing the PHEAA delays

I'm dealing with the exact same situation! My son is heading into his junior year at Pitt and we submitted his FAFSA in early March. Still radio silence from PHEAA and his tuition bill is due August 15th. What's really frustrating is that last year we had the state grant info by May, so this delay caught us completely off guard. I've been checking the PHEAA portal obsessively and it just keeps saying "application under review." Reading through these comments makes me feel better knowing we're not alone, but also worried about how widespread this problem is. Going to call both PHEAA and Pitt's financial aid office first thing Monday morning. Thanks for starting this thread - it's really helpful to know other families are going through the same stress!

Just wanted to add my experience here - my daughter is a rising senior at Penn State and we're in the exact same boat. FAFSA submitted in February, still waiting on PHEAA. What's really concerning me is that this is her final year and any delay in funding could impact her ability to graduate on time. I called Penn State's financial aid office yesterday and they said they're seeing this across the board with PA students. They recommended submitting a payment deferral request through the bursar's office, which I did immediately. The rep also mentioned that when the PHEAA grants do come through, they'll be applied retroactively to the account. Still incredibly stressful though, especially for families who are already stretched thin financially. Hang in there everyone - sounds like we're all in this together!

I'm so sorry you're all going through this stress! My daughter is a freshman at Temple and we're experiencing the exact same delays with PHEAA. What's been particularly frustrating is that the PHEAA website gives absolutely no timeline estimates - just that vague "pending" status that tells us nothing. I've been following some of the advice from this thread and wanted to share what I learned when I called Temple's financial aid office yesterday. They said they've processed over 200 payment deferral requests just this week due to PHEAA delays, so this is definitely widespread. The financial aid counselor also mentioned that they're working directly with PHEAA to get priority processing for students with August payment deadlines. She recommended that I email them a copy of my daughter's tuition bill showing the due date, which might help expedite things. It's ridiculous that families have to jump through all these hoops, but at least the schools seem to understand this isn't our fault. Hoping we all get good news soon!

I'm a new member here but wanted to jump in because I'm going through this exact same nightmare with my twin daughters who are both sophomores at different PA schools (one at Penn State, one at West Chester). What's making this even more stressful for our family is that we're dealing with TWO separate PHEAA applications that are both delayed. Both girls submitted their FAFSAs in January, and we're still waiting on both state grants. The financial aid offices at both schools have been helpful with deferrals, but it's incredibly anxiety-provoking not knowing if we'll get the same grant amounts as last year or if they'll be reduced. Reading through all these comments has been both comforting (knowing we're not alone) and terrifying (seeing how widespread this is). Has anyone heard anything about whether PHEAA is planning to send out a batch of notifications soon, or are we just supposed to keep waiting indefinitely? This whole situation is making college planning impossible!

Just joined this community because I'm in the exact same situation! My daughter is starting her sophomore year at Kutztown and we submitted her FAFSA back in early February. Still absolutely nothing from PHEAA and her tuition payment is due August 20th. What's really frustrating is that we received her federal Pell Grant information over a month ago, but the state grant is just stuck in limbo. I've been checking the PHEAA portal daily and it's the same "application under review" message for weeks now. Reading all these comments makes me feel less crazy for being so stressed about this, but also really worried about how many PA families are affected. Going to call Kutztown's financial aid office tomorrow to request a payment deferral. Thanks for starting this discussion - it's so helpful to know we're not dealing with this alone!

I'm new to this community but had to jump in because I'm going through the exact same situation! My son is entering his junior year at Penn State and we submitted his FAFSA in early February, but we're still waiting on any word from PHEAA about his state grant. His tuition bill is due August 12th and I've been checking the PHEAA portal obsessively - just keeps showing "pending" status. It's really reassuring to read all these comments and know we're not the only family dealing with this stress, but also concerning to see how widespread the delays are. I had no idea about the batch processing system they're using this year, which explains why the timeline is so different from last year. Going to call Penn State's financial aid office first thing tomorrow to request a payment deferral and see if they can provide any additional guidance. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it really helps to know we're all in this together!

I'm also dealing with this exact same situation! My daughter is a sophomore at Penn State and we submitted her FAFSA in late January, but we're still waiting on the PHEAA state grant notification. Her tuition is due August 15th and I've been checking the portal daily with no updates beyond "application under review." It's incredibly stressful not knowing whether we'll receive the same grant amount as last year or if we need to arrange additional funding. Reading through all these comments has been both reassuring (knowing we're not alone) and eye-opening about how widespread this issue really is. I had no idea about the batch processing system causing these delays. Going to contact both Penn State's financial aid office and request a payment deferral first thing Monday morning. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it really helps to know other families are going through the same uncertainty!

Just wanted to add my voice to this discussion as another PA family going through the exact same nightmare! My son is starting his sophomore year at Penn State and we submitted his FAFSA back in late January. Still absolutely nothing from PHEAA and his tuition payment is due August 10th. What's been particularly frustrating is that we received all his federal aid information weeks ago, but the state grant is just completely stuck. I've been religiously checking the PHEAA portal and it's been showing "application under review" for what feels like forever. This thread has been so helpful - I had no idea this was affecting so many families statewide! Reading everyone's experiences makes me feel less alone in this stress, but also really concerned about how broken the system seems to be this year. Going to call Penn State's bursar office tomorrow morning to request a payment deferral based on all the advice here. Has anyone had success getting an actual timeline from PHEAA when they've called, or are they just telling everyone to "keep waiting"? Thank you all for sharing your stories - it really helps to know we're all dealing with this together!

I'm a new member but had to join this discussion because we're experiencing the exact same delays! My daughter is a junior at Penn State and we submitted her FAFSA in early February, but we're still stuck waiting for PHEAA with her tuition due August 18th. What's been driving me crazy is that last year we had her state grant information by early June, so this delay completely caught us off guard when planning our finances. I've been checking the PHEAA portal multiple times a day and it's just the same "pending" status for months now. Reading through all these comments has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea this was affecting so many PA families! It's both comforting to know we're not alone and concerning to see how widespread this problem really is. I'm definitely going to call Penn State's financial aid office tomorrow to request a payment deferral based on all the advice shared here. Has anyone who got through to PHEAA been given any indication of when they expect to clear the backlog? This whole situation is making it impossible to budget for the semester! Thank you all for sharing your experiences - this community discussion has been a lifesaver during such a stressful time.

I'm so glad I found this discussion! My daughter is a rising sophomore at Penn State and we're in exactly the same situation - FAFSA submitted in February, still waiting on PHEAA with tuition due August 16th. This thread has been incredibly helpful because I was starting to panic thinking we had done something wrong or missed a step. It's both reassuring and alarming to see how many PA families are dealing with these delays. The "application under review" status on the PHEAA portal has been driving me crazy for weeks! I'm definitely going to call Penn State's financial aid office tomorrow morning to request a payment deferral - thank you all for that advice. Reading everyone's experiences here makes me feel so much less alone in this stressful situation. Has anyone heard if PHEAA is planning to send out notifications in batches, or are we all just stuck waiting indefinitely? This whole delay is making it impossible to finalize our budget for the semester!

I'm new to this community but had to join after finding this thread! My son is starting his junior year at Penn State and we're dealing with the exact same PHEAA delays. We submitted his FAFSA in early March and still haven't heard anything from PHEAA - just that dreaded "application under review" status that everyone's talking about. His tuition is due August 12th and I've been losing sleep over this! Reading through all these comments has been such a relief because I was starting to think we were the only ones going through this nightmare. It's incredible (and scary) to see how widespread these delays are across Pennsylvania. I'm definitely calling Penn State's financial aid office first thing tomorrow to request a payment deferral based on all the great advice shared here. Has anyone had any luck getting updates by checking their student's university portal instead of just the PHEAA website? Sometimes schools receive the information before families get the official notification. Thank you all for creating such a supportive discussion - knowing we're all in this together makes it a little less overwhelming!