How Financial Aid  
Is Determined
•Students interested in receiving financial aid must 
fill out and submit the FAFSA — Free Application 
for Federal Student Aid (pp. 46-47) — which gives 
colleges information about your family’s financial  
situation. Some colleges also require you to complete  
the CSS Profile (p. 48) or their own form.
•If you are a Pennsylvania resident, after you  
complete your FAFSA, PHEAA will email  
instructions regarding the State Grant Form 
(SGF) to apply for state grants. The PHEAA will  
ask you to list your top choice school. This can  
be changed later if you enroll elsewhere. The steps 
to applying for PHEAA are outlined at pheaa.org/
grants/state-grant-program/apply-renew.
•Shortly after completing your FAFSA online, your 
FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) will be available 
at www.studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.
•The FAFSA submisssion summary shows your SAI, 
which is an index number used by financial aid  
professionals to create your aid offer.
•Colleges subtract your SAI from the cost of  
attendance to determine your financial need.  
They do not, however, guarantee to meet your  
entire financial need.
42
Pennsylvania State and State-Related Institutions (in-state resident) 	
Tuition and Fees*	
Room and Board*
Penn State University	
$20,878	
$15,346
University of Pittsburgh	
$23,749 	
$20,654
West Chester University	
$12,071	
$15,556
Private Four-Year Institutions
Arcadia University	
$52,200	
$15,400
Gwynedd Mercy University	
$43,430	
$14,772
Swarthmore College	
$73,204	
$22,566
Two-Year Institutions
Community College of Philadelphia	
$3,678	
N/A
Pennsylvania College of Technology	
$20,405	
$10,975
*Per year; amount may vary depending on such factors as course fees, major, meal plan, and housing accommodations.
College Direct Cost Sampling: 2026-2027 Estimates
Financial Aid 101
Few students can afford to pay for college on their 
own. Financial aid is intended to make college 
affordable for everyone.
•Financial aid can be merit-based or need-based. 
Merit-based aid is awarded in recognition of a  
student’s academic achievement, talents, or special  
skills. Need-based aid is awarded based on a family’s  
ability to pay for college. The majority of aid provided 
by colleges and universities is need-based.
•There are many sources of financial aid. Financial 
aid is provided to students by the federal government,  
the state in which the student lives, the college to  
be attended by the student, and other public and  
private institutions.
•Some forms of financial aid must be repaid while 
others do not have an obligation of repayment.  
Your financial aid package may include a combination  
of both types of aid.
•Recommended resources for understanding  
financial aid include www.khanacademy.org  
(search “paying for college”), and www.pheaa.org/
grants/state-grant-program.
•Estimate your Student Aid Index, or SAI. This helps 
colleges determine how much federal aid you would 
receive if you attended the school. https://student 
aid.gov/help-center/answers/article/what-is-sai

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