Financial Aid

Penn Merit Scholarships and Financial Aid

Penn left the merit aid lines of its Common Data Set blank.

Merit aid

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

Average merit award

Not reported

Freshmen who got one

Not reported

of 2,393 in the class

Share of those without need

Not reported

who received merit aid

Need-based aid

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

Average need-based grant

$70,867

Average percent of need met

100%

Freshmen with need

47%

1,116 students

The average total aid package, which can include loans and work-study, was $73,689.

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'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 give merit scholarships?

Penn left the merit aid lines of its Common Data Set blank.

Does Penn meet full financial need?

Penn reports meeting 100% of need on average for first-year students who were awarded need-based aid.

What share of Penn freshmen have financial need?

1,116 of 2,393 first-time, full-time freshmen, or 47%, were found to have financial need.

Source: Penn’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.