Financial Aid

There are variety of ways to pay for a college education including grants, loans, scholarships, employer reimbursement, veteran benefits, and work-study.

Students need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be eligible for federal grants and loans. Pennsylvania residents should also complete the PHEAA grant application. Penn State FAFSA school code: 003329

Some aid programs are available to financially eligible students enrolled on a part-time basis.

You must reapply for student aid each year, ideally in October, prior to the next school year. Contact the Penn State Altoona Student Aid Office for information regarding the specific forms and deadline dates for reapplying for student aid. The Student Aid Office is located at W111 Smith Building. Contact them at 814-949-5055.

The Ted and Esther Holtzinger and Harry E. Slep Memorial Scholarship Funds

Through an endowment established in 1985-86, the Slep Fund honors Harry E. Slep, who founded the Altoona Mirror newspaper and whose name graces the Campus student center. The Holtzinger Fund honors the late Altoona Mirror publisher and Campus founder J. E. "Ted" Holtzinger, whose name graces the college's engineering building, and his wife Esther.

The college annually awards approximately ten Holtzinger/Slep scholarships each fall to area adults who have not recently attended high school or college and want to enroll in college credit courses. Each scholarship covers the tuition cost for one 3-credit course of the recipient's choosing and the $39 computer fee. Recipients are chosen on the basis of responses to an application. Financial need is not a primary determining factor in the selection of award recipients, but may be considered. Recipients are responsible for the cost of books. Non-degree students may receive this award since it is locally funded.

Since its inception, over 100 Holtzinger/Slep scholarships have been awarded.