The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) has announced that as a result of the recently passed state budget, the maximum award through the PA State Grant Program has increased to $6,000, the highest award in program history.

For fiscal year 2026-27, the PA State Grant Program received a more than $5.9 million increase, bringing total available funding to more than $419 million. This supports PHEAA's approved awarding formula that increases the maximum award to $6,000, up from the $5,750 maximum award that has held steady for the past four years and was previously the highest award in the history of the PA State Grant Program.

PHEAA has been supplementing the PA State Grant Program since 2012 and will again supplement the PA State Grant Program allocation this year with up to $15 million of the agency's own funds. This support allows for the increased maximum grant award.

PHEAA's self-funding of the administration of commonwealth programs, including the PA State Grant Program, as well as the agency's public awareness and outreach mission, saved taxpayers more than $34.5 million last year.

Each year, PHEAA's board reevaluates the awarding formula by analyzing several factors, including tuition costs, the effect of inflation on family incomes, the number of expected applicants, and the governor's recommended funding for the program as part of the budget proposal for the commonwealth. It is PHEAA's goal, when making its funding request to the Pennsylvania General Assembly, to provide helpful aid to as many students as possible.