Financial Aid

Penn State Merit Scholarships and Financial Aid

Penn State gave merit aid averaging $6,026 to 552 first-year students who had no financial need, about 10% of the freshmen without need.

Merit aid

Scholarships Penn State gave to first-year students who had no financial need.

Average merit award

$6,026

Freshmen who got one

552

of 9,142 in the class

Share of those without need

10%

who received merit aid

Need-based aid

For first-year students the college found to have financial need.

Average need-based grant

$8,430

Average percent of need met

68.6%

Freshmen with need

41%

3,723 students

The average total aid package, which can include loans and work-study, was $12,659.

How to read these numbers

Merit aid is awarded for grades, scores, or talent. Need-based aid is awarded for family finances. A student can receive both.
The merit figures count only students with no financial need, so they show what a family that will not qualify for need-based aid can expect.
A grant does not have to be repaid. A package can include loans, which do.

Email me Penn State's aid numbers

A link to this page, plus the merit aid comparison for every college we track.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Penn State give merit scholarships?

Penn State gave merit aid averaging $6,026 to 552 first-year students who had no financial need, about 10% of the freshmen without need.

How much is the average merit scholarship at Penn State?

$6,026 for first-year students without financial need, according to Penn State's 2025-26 Common Data Set. That is an average across everyone who got an award, so individual offers run higher and lower.

Does Penn State meet full financial need?

Penn State reports meeting 68.6% of need on average for first-year students who were awarded need-based aid. A figure under 100% means the average student was left with a gap to cover.

What share of Penn State freshmen have financial need?

3,723 of 9,142 first-time, full-time freshmen, or 41%, were found to have financial need.

Source: Penn State’s own Common Data Set 2025-26, Section H, for first-time, full-time freshmen. Last checked 2026-10-08. These are averages for one entering class, and some colleges report the prior year’s class in this section. Your own offer depends on your family’s finances and your application.