Research · Scholarships · October 2026
Scholarships in Pennsylvania: the 2 state programs and what each asks for
As of October 2026: Pennsylvania has 2 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table says what each one pays, who qualifies, and when it closes, in the state's own words.
The table holds every state-funded award we could confirm for a Pennsylvania high school graduate going to college. It does not hold federal aid, or a scholarship that comes from one college rather than from the state.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Pennsylvania runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores. Grow PA Scholarship Grant Program is one of them. 0 of the 2 programs we could read name a GPA, and 0 name a test score. A need-based award asks about family income instead, through the FAFSA.
The state's own pages are the only place these rules live. Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
What this table does not tell you. 1 program publishes figures for an earlier award year (2025-26), and the state has posted nothing newer we could find. The table says which year each one describes.
Every state scholarship in Pennsylvania
Read the row, then open the state's own page before you count on a figure.
| Program | Merit or need | What it pays | GPA it asks for | Test score it asks for | Who qualifies | Deadline | Renewable | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA State Grant Program | Need-based | For the 2025-26 award year, in-state maximum awards ranged from $3,058 at the lowest cost tier to $5,750 at the highest cost tier, where total educational costs run $29,001 to $32,000; the minimum award is $500. The agency publishes no 2026-27 program manual we could read (the page describes the 2025-26 award year) | — | — | Be a Pennsylvania resident and a high school graduate, as stipulated in PA State Grant law; enrolled at least half-time (6+ semester credits) in an approved program of at least 2 academic years; not have earned a bachelor's degree; maintain satisfactory academic progress; file the FAFSA | All other applicants (the deadline category that covers most 4-year and many 2-year students): May 1, 2025 for the 2025-26 cycle; students graduating in spring 2027 and enrolling fall 2027 should expect a comparable May 1, 2027 deadline, with an August 1 deadline for community colleges, designated open-admission schools, BTT schools, hospital nursing schools, and non-transferable 2-year programs | Renewable each year up to the maximum number of PA State Grant awards permitted, contingent on continued financial need, enrollment, and satisfactory academic progress | Source |
| Grow PA Scholarship Grant Program | Merit and need | Up to $5,000 per academic year, for up to four academic years | — | — | Pennsylvania resident; file the FAFSA; enrolled at least half-time in an approved associate's or bachelor's degree program at an approved PA institution in an approved major leading to an in-demand occupation; must not already hold a bachelor's degree; after graduation, recipient must work in an approved in-demand occupation in Pennsylvania for 12 months per academic year of award received (up to 4 years), or the grant converts to a loan that must be repaid | Applications for the 2026-27 award year were accepted through PHEAA's Account Access portal; a comparable application window is expected for the 2027-28 award year for students graduating in spring 2027 | Renewable up to four academic years if the student remains enrolled and eligible; after graduation, the obligation is to work in-state in an in-demand occupation rather than a GPA renewal test | Source |
Every row is a state-funded or state-administered award for a Pennsylvania high school graduate going to an undergraduate program, as of October 2026. A scholarship from a single college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all left out. A blank cell means the state's own page does not state it. Dollar figures and GPA floors change every year.
How to read a state scholarship
State awards come in two shapes. A merit award asks about grades, a course list, or a test score, and it does not care what a family earns. A need-based award asks about income and assets through the FAFSA, and it does not care about grades. Some awards ask about both, and the table calls those merit and need.
The deadline column is the one families miss. For most need-based state aid the deadline is really the FAFSA deadline, and it falls months before a college asks for a decision. A merit award more often has no application at all: the state or the high school nominates the student from records it already holds.
What a family should do with this
Open the official page in the last column for the one or two programs your student plausibly qualifies for, and write down two dates: the state aid deadline and the FAFSA deadline. Those are the two that close. In Pennsylvania the earliest date on this table is the one to put on the calendar first.
Then look past the state. A state award is usually the smaller half of an offer. The college's own merit grid and its net price for your family income move more money than any state program on this page, and both are published.
Questions parents ask
What scholarships does Pennsylvania offer?
Pennsylvania has 2 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table says what each one pays, who qualifies, and when it closes, in the state's own words.
Does Pennsylvania have a merit scholarship?
Pennsylvania runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores, and Grow PA Scholarship Grant Program is one of them.
How do I find the rules for a Pennsylvania scholarship?
Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
Method & sources: Programs come from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) and the agency's own program pages, read in October 2026. The population is a student who graduates from a Pennsylvania high school and enrolls as an undergraduate. A scholarship offered by one college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all out of scope. A value the agency's own page does not state is left blank rather than filled from elsewhere, and a page that could not be read drops every figure.
- Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA)
- PA State Grant Program
- Grow PA Scholarship Grant Program
This brief as data: /research/scholarships-in-pennsylvania.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Related: Merit scholarships by college · State scholarships in every state · High schools in Pennsylvania · Scholarship deadlines