First Time FAFSA Applicants need to create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID: The Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID is a username and password combination you will use to log in to your studentaid.gov account and access the U.S. Department of Education online systems. It is recommended you create your account early as it can take up to three days for you to be able to access your account. Visit Creating and Using the FSA ID for information on how to create and use your FSA ID.
2024-2025 FAFSA Updates
The Department of Education ushered in big changes to the 2024-2025 FAFSA intending to simplify the application process and update aid eligibility calculations. With the FAFSA simplification rewrite and unexpected changes to timeframes, the aid awarding process has been substantially delayed for schools across the country.
The original predicted date for schools to receive FAFSAs was late January, however, on January 30, 2024 the Department of Education announced there would be further delays to fix the inflation adjustment. The new expected time frame for schools to receive FASFAs is mid-March.
The Department of Education has been working tirelessly to ensure the new successfully improves the user experience for all users, and remains committed to provide helpful tools and information for students and parents on StudentAid.gov.
Financial Aid Process
The Financial Aid Office administers a variety of grants, scholarships, work study, and loans. Your financial aid package may include different types of financial aid funds. There are four primary sources of financial aid – federal and state governments, the University, and private agencies. Filing the FAFSA offers several potential ways to finance your education. Post-secondary institutions across the country use the FAFSA to determine how much financial aid you’re eligible to receive.
Completing the FAFSA
The first step to apply for financial aid at Pennsylvania Western University is to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Get started by following these steps.
All applicants need to complete and submit a FAFSA every year you intend to be enrolled. The FAFSA should be completed online at FAFSA® Application.
- Remember, the FAFSA is free. You shouldn’t pay to fill out the FAFSA Form.
- The FAFSA is available the first of October every year. File as early as possible.
- List Pennsylvania Western University’s school code 003316 first in order for us to receive both your FAFSA and Pennsylvania State Grant information.
- To be considered for the Pennsylvania State Grant, the FAFSA filing deadline is May 1. We recommend you file your application at least 30 days prior to that, which is April 1. Federal Student Aid provides the FAFSA filing deadlines for each state on their webpage.
Transfer Students who are transferring to PennWest from a different college should update their FAFSA to add Pennsylvania Western University’s federal school code of 003316. If you are receiving a PA State Grant, sign into your PA State Grant Account Access and use the “Update School Information” link on your PA State Grant Status to Pennsylvania Western University.
Each year the U.S. Department of Education (U.S.D.E.) selects approximately 30 percent of students who complete the FAFSA for verification. The Financial Aid Office will compare information from your FAFSA with information we are required to collect from the student and/or parent such as IRS Tax Transcripts, W-2s, household size verification, and other requested documentation. Federal regulations require this information to be verified before awarding federal aid (i.e. grants, loans, and work study). If there are differences between your FAFSA application information and your financial documents, the Financial Aid Office will make corrections on your behalf. Once verification is complete, your financial aid will be finalized and you will be able to review your aid offers in your myPennWest self-service portal.
Students should be aware:
- Students selected for verification will receive an aid package prior to verification being completed. This package is ESTIMATED and subject to change based on corrections made during the verification process. No aid will disburse to the student’s account until verification is completed.
- During peak processing periods (between April and September), allow a minimum of four weeks for the Financial Aid Office to complete verification of your record.
- Students are expected to respond to any requests from the Financial Aid Office in a timely manner in order to avoid delays in the processing of their request for financial aid for the academic year.
- All verification documents must be clearly labeled with the student’s full name and PennWest ID.
- All PennWest verification-related forms are completed online through pennwest.studentforms.com.