Understanding Penn State Scranton Tuition Costs and Financial Aid Options

Paying for college is a substantial investment for most families. Navigating the complexities of tuition costs and financial aid can be daunting. This article provides a comprehensive overview of Penn State Scranton's tuition expenses and the various financial aid options available to students.

Demystifying College Costs

Knowing what a school costs is the first step in managing college expenses. The "Cost of Attendance" represents the total amount of money the average student has to pay, without any financial aid, to attend a particular school. Think of it as a school’s sticker price. The Cost of Attendance breakdown for Penn State Scranton differs depending on whether you’re an in-state or out-of-state student - in-state students can expect lower costs for tuition and fees. Because Penn State Scranton is an out-of-state public institution, students can expect to pay more than if they were an in-state student.

Financial Aid: Supplementing Educational Expenses

Financial aid can be defined as any resource that supplements what parents and students are expected to contribute to meet the costs of a college education. ALL students are encouraged to apply for financial aid regardless of their perceived financial need. If you need help paying for college or career school, the office of Federal Student Aid can assist you with getting the money you need.

Types of Financial Aid

There are four primary types of student aid:

Grants: Grants are awarded based solely on financial need and have no requirement of repayment. They may come from the Federal government, the state or the university.
Scholarships: Scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement. For many University scholarships, financial need is an additional criterion of eligibility. There is no requirement of repayment. Penn State Scranton campus scholarship committee reviews all first-year Penn State Scranton students on a rolling basis, based upon their prior academic performance - no application is required to be considered for campus scholarship funds.
Loans: Loans are low-interest awards that must be repaid after students terminate their studies at the University.
Federal Work-Study: Federal work-study funds are awarded based upon the financial need of the student and the availability of funds. Students who accept Federal work-study funds can earn money towards their school expenses. Work-study earnings are not applied directly to your semester bill.

Grant Aid at Penn State Scranton

We’re focusing on grants and scholarships first because they’re the most important forms of financial aid. Grants and scholarships are better than loans because students don’t ever have to pay them back. Although it’s useful to know how many students get grant aid, it’s also important to know how much grant aid people tend to receive. Altogether, this is mixed news - at Penn State Scranton, MORE students get aid, but the ones who do get LESS than average. The grant dollar amounts we’ve seen so far have included aid from all sources - both federal and institutional. To figure out how strong Penn State Scranton’s own financial aid program is, we’ll look at how they award their own (non-federal) financial aid dollars. Some schools may claim to offer large amounts of aid to prospective students without advertising that much of this money may come in the form of student loans - money that you have to pay back. The amount of money that students actually get is just as important (if not more important) than the percent of students who get grants. Right away, it seems like Penn State Scranton offers less institutional aid than other schools. Second, this can also mean that the school just costs less than the typical school of its type.

Student Loans

Aside from grants, the other major way to pay for college is with student loans. The more student loan money you borrow, the more debt you’ll end up with after graduation. Ideally, you want to minimize your student debt as much as possible. It’s generally a bad sign if a school has many students taking out a lot of loans. It’s very common for college grads in the US to graduate with some debt, but high percentages of students taking on loans at a particular school is a big red flag. High numbers of students with loans is a red flag, and Penn State Scranton is above average. At Penn State Scranton, 79% of all students take out federal loans. At Penn State Scranton, the average annual federal loan amount is $5485. Other loans, or private loans, are the last resource students turn to when paying for college. At Penn State Scranton, 8% of students take out private loans. Just as important as the percentage of students with private loans is the average loan amount. The average private loan amount at Penn State Scranton is $6294. The percentage of students getting federal loans is greater than those getting private loans, which is a good sign.

Determining Financial Aid Eligibility

After completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Penn State Scranton students will be considered for all federal financial aid programs, including grants, loans, and work-study programs. Students at Penn State Scranton are also considered for scholarship support, which can originate from the Office of Student Aid, the student's academic college, and/or campus scholarships.

If the University is requesting your SS#, you can call the office or hand-deliver the information.

Residency Appeals

When students apply to Penn State, most times residency is set automatically based on the location of a student’s high school. If this is the case when you apply, and your high school no longer reflects your state of residency, or you believe you have been incorrectly classified as an out-of-state student, you will need to submit a residency appeal. Be sure to include your full name and Penn State ID or MyPennState user ID with your appeal.

Appeals should include a written explanation, as well as the following items:

Students 24 and Under

Copy of your parents' lease, deed, or mortgage
Copy of your parents’ first page of the Federal and Pennsylvania income tax returns for the most recent year (you may block out financial information)
Copy of your parents’ current Pennsylvania driver's license or state-issued photo identification card

Adult Students

Copy of your lease, deed, or mortgage
Copy of the first page of your Federal and Pennsylvania income tax returns for the most recent year (you may block out financial information)
Copy of your current Pennsylvania driver's license or state-issued photo identification card

Special Considerations for Military-Connected Students

Recent state legislation now requires public institutions of higher learning, State-related institutions, State-owned institutions, and private institutions in Pennsylvania to charge resident tuition rates to veterans, their spouses, and dependent children who do not currently reside in Pennsylvania. Resident tuition rates will also be extended to guard/reservists/active-duty members, their spouses, and dependent children regardless of residency, as well as any civilian personnel, their spouses, and dependent children employed at a Department of Defense facility who are transferred to Pennsylvania by the Department of Defense and who reside in Pennsylvania.

Please note, under this legislation, “Veteran” is defined as “an individual who served in the United States Armed Forces, including a reserve component or the National Guard and who was discharged or released from service under conditions other than dishonorable. § 3319(b) (relating to authority to transfer unused education benefits to family members).”.

In order to receive the in-state tuition, veteran and/or dependent status must be verified. For more information about the process to request in-state tuition based on this legislation, please go to the Office of Veterans Programs webpage.

Net Price: What You'll Actually Pay

Finally, we get to the bottom line: what will Penn State Scranton actually cost YOU? Above, we've covered Penn State Scranton's Cost of Attendance (tuition, room and board, books, and more). The Net Price is the total cost minus the total aid given. In other words, this is the price you have to pay to the school out of pocket. Most schools have an updated Net Price calculator available. Once you have a Net Price estimate, you’ll want to figure out whether your family can afford to pay Penn State Scranton tuition and costs. Once again, the Net Price is the total cost of attending, minus the aid you can expect to get (grants and scholarships).

Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

The US government has come up with a standardized way to calculate how much a typical family can afford to pay without help. As an example, a family that brings home $80,000 in income before taxes, with no assets and no other children in college, has an EFC of around $7,000. Colleges use this number as a guideline to decide how much aid to give you, but it's just a guideline. So we're going to calculate your EFC and compare it to Penn State Scranton's Net Price. If the Net Price is higher than the EFC, the school will cost more than you can typically afford. This tool will calculate your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC. Please note this tool is only an approximation, and your personal situation may cause your EFC to vary.

Read also: Penn State Admission: Average ACT

Evaluating Penn State Scranton's Value

As a regional school, Penn State Scranton may not be a household name nationwide, but it's known to people in the local area as a solid school. Compared to some other regional schools, Penn State Scranton didn't appear on our best value lists. This might be because the net price is higher than for other schools of similar reputation. This isn't the end of the world - you can likely still afford Penn State Scranton by taking out loans, earning scholarships, or working part-time. Overall, Penn State Scranton is a decent value, and going to college here will likely pay off over time. To meet Penn State Scranton's admission requirements, you'll need to have competitive SAT/ACT scores and a good GPA. Your next step should be to get a better idea of costs and aid availability at similar schools. If you’re interested in Penn State Scranton, you should check out some other high-value schools that could give you more bang for your buck. Get started here to check both in-state and out-of-state schools that might provide a better value. Finally, we're going to look at schools that might offer a better value than Penn State Scranton. To compile this list, we first find schools at similar academic levels, so you have a similar chance at getting in. It’s hard to know exactly what schools will be a great value for you without information on your family income. There are a lot of potential financial benefits that come with attending a school close to home. For example, in-state public schools tend to have subsidized tuitions for state residents.

Additional Resources

Penn State's tuition rates vary by campus, program, student level, and residency. The Net Price Calculator was developed as a tool to help families plan for future educational costs and is based on Penn State's current academic year costs. The "net price" is derived by subtracting a student's potential scholarships and grants from the estimated cost of education. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS who will be attending Penn State in F-1 (student visa) or J-1 (student category) status must meet the International Financial Guarantee Requirements regarding visa documents.

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