University Park

Penn State student aid award notifications available online

University Park, Pa. -- On June 24, the Office of Student Aid sent e-mail notifications to 35,547 current (non first-year) Penn State students who completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) announcing the availability of the 2008-09 Student Aid Award Notification online. To access the 2008-09 Student Aid Award Notification online, students need to login to eLion and select the Student Aid Summary option from the “Students” menu.

The Student Aid Summary contains the types and amounts of financial aid that students are eligible to receive -- loans, grants, work-study, or scholarships -- in the 2008-09 academic year based on the information they submitted on the FAFSA. The summary also contains estimated costs of attendance for tuition, room and meals, and books and supplies so students can prepare to pay their tuition bills. Tuition bill notifications for fall will be sent to students via e-mail in July and are due in August.

This year, students may notice a few changes from past years in their student aid:

  • Students who are federal student loan borrowers will need to take an additional step and sign a new Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) this one-time to receive a Stafford Loan.  Because Penn State now participates in the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, students will obtain their federal student loan funds directly from the U.S. government, not from private lenders. Any Stafford Loan MPNs students signed with lenders in the past are no longer valid. To sign their MPN, students should go to the Direct Loans MPN Web site, select "complete new MPN for student loans," and sign the MPN using their Federal Student Aid PIN.

 

  •  Effective this fall, the federal unsubsidized Stafford limits for dependent and independent students will increase by an additional amount of $2,000. To apply for a Stafford Loan, students must submit the FAFSA. Even though the unsubsidized Stafford Loan is available to all students regardless of financial need, students must still submit the FASFA to be eligible.

The Office of Student Aid will continue to e-mail the 2008-09 Student Aid Award Notifications to students on a rolling basis -- after students submit the 2008-09 FAFSA and the office receives this application for financial aid, a notification will be sent to students via e-mail a few weeks after they submit the FAFSA. Students returning home during the summer can access their Penn State e-mail account through Penn State’s WebMail to view the notification.

The Office of Student Aid administers all major federal, state, and University student financial aid programs at Penn State and coordinates multiple funding sources on behalf of more than 64,000 students and sponsoring agencies. For additional information, visit: www.psu.edu/studentaid.
 

Last Updated March 19, 2009

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