Grant awards going up for college students in Pa.
Grant awards are likely going up this year for college students in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency has worked out a tentative formula for calculating grant amounts for students looking for help paying for classes.
The maximum state grant award for Pennsylvanians is up by more than $150 dollars, to roughly $4,300.
PHEAA spokesman Keith New explained that it’s going up because of lower demand.
“The biggest factor we’re seeing is a decrease in expected applicants, and that simply comes from a trending down of the number of Pennsylvania high school graduates that we’re seeing,” New said.
PHEAA expects the average grant award to increase to more than $3,000 — up by more than $200 from last year.
The agency is cautioning students and schools that the grant awards will depend on the state budget, which hasn’t yet been finalized. The deadline to apply for a state grant is Wednesday.
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