PHEAA Summer 2024 vs FAFSA - Do I need to apply for both?

They are two different programs, but they work together. PHEAA is Pennsylvania's state grant agency, while FAFSA is the federal application for student aid. You absolutely need to complete your FAFSA to receive most aid, including your PHEAA grants. In fact, I'm surprised you got PHEAA approval without having a FAFSA on file - typically PHEAA requires your FAFSA data to determine eligibility.

u probably already did fafsa without realizing it was seperate from pheaa. check ur studentaid.gov account to see if u have a SAI score already. thats what they use to decide how much aid u get

As someone who works in financial aid, I can clarify this for you. PHEAA (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency) administers the PA State Grant program and yes, you MUST have a FAFSA on file to receive those funds. However, what likely happened is that your school pre-approved you based on your previous FAFSA data, assuming you'll complete the new application. You should definitely complete your 2024-2025 FAFSA immediately. The summer 2024 term may fall under either the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 FAFSA depending on your school's financial aid calendar. I recommend contacting your financial aid office directly to confirm which year's FAFSA you need.

I had the same confusion last year! My school said my PHEAA summer grant was approved but then I almost lost it because I hadn't done the right year's FAFSA. Different schools count summer under different aid years - super annoying!!

Yeah I got it eventually but it was stressful. Had to call the financial aid office like 20 times because they never picked up. Kept getting the "all agents are busy" message for days.

PHEAA and FAFSA are NOT the same. PHEAA is just a middleman that administers funds in PA. Your FAFSA determines your SAI (Student Aid Index) which is what actually decides how much money you get. If you don't have the right FAFSA on file, your "approval" means absolutely nothing. The system is designed to be confusing so students miss deadlines and they can redistribute the money elsewhere. Been dealing with this bureaucratic nightmare for 3 years now.

Just make sure you check which academic year your summer classes fall under! My university counts Summer 2024 as part of the 2023-2024 aid year, but my friend's college counts it as the beginning of 2024-2025. This tripped me up last year and I had to scramble to fix it.

Just a follow-up point: Make sure when you complete your FAFSA that you also complete the PA State Grant form through PHEAA's website. Sometimes students complete the FAFSA but forget this extra step, which is required for the PHEAA grant. The good news is that even if there's a delay in processing, most schools will hold your summer classes registration if they know your aid is coming.

btw if ur school financial aid office never answers, try emailing the director directly. google "[school name] financial aid director" and u'll usually find their email. worked for me when nobody would pick up phones

To summarize what everyone's saying: 1) Yes, you need a FAFSA on file to actually receive PHEAA funds 2) Check which aid year your summer 2024 falls under at your specific school 3) Complete the PA State Grant form on PHEAA's website after doing your FAFSA 4) Contact your financial aid office ASAP to confirm everything is in order.

Glad to hear you got it sorted out! Just wanted to add one more tip for future reference - you can also set up text alerts through your studentaid.gov account to get notified when your FAFSA is processed or if there are any issues. Really helps avoid these last-minute panic situations. And definitely keep checking your school email regularly during aid season - sometimes they send important updates that can get buried in your inbox.

Just wanted to chime in as another PA student who went through this same confusion! One thing I learned the hard way is that even if your PHEAA approval letter doesn't explicitly mention FAFSA, you should always double-check your student portal to make sure all your aid requirements are met. Sometimes there are holds or missing documents that aren't obvious from the initial approval. Also, if you're taking summer classes at a different school than your main campus, make sure both schools are communicating about your aid - I had issues with that once where my home school had all my info but the summer host school didn't receive the transfer properly. Hope everything works out for your summer registration!