Costs and Financial Aid

Kutztown University understands that with the state of the economy, it is hard to make a large financial investment such as a college education. Financial aid is here to help your family afford the quality education that every student deserves.

Financial aid comes from four different sources - the federal government, the state government, private sources and the university. Grants and scholarships are considered gift aid; students are not required to repay the money received. Loans, typically offered at low-interest rates, are to be repaid by students usually after completion of the degree.

The amount of financial aid a student is qualified to receive is determined by the results of the FAFSA. The FAFSA asks about your family size, the number of family members in college, and the student's and parents' income and assets. The calculation tells the Financial Aid Office how much aid you are eligible to receive. Grants and scholarships are applied to your aid package, if you are eligible for any, and the student loan is processed.

Complete the FAFSA online. First, apply for an FSA ID for students and parents. The FSA ID will serve as an electronic signature. This is the only application needed to apply for aid at Kutztown University. By listing Kutztown University as a school of choice (KU's federal school code is 003322), the FAFSA data is electronically transmitted to us. Please do not wait until you have received acceptance of admission to file your FAFSA. If you will not attend your first choice of school, you can easily have your information released to another school. File the FAFSA by the earliest filing deadline of all the schools you are considering to attend.

If your student completed the FAFSA in the prior year, you can access your renewal FAFSA and update the information as necessary.

A parent can apply online for a Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student (PLUS).

A Financial Aid Offer is sent by email in early spring to incoming freshmen and transfer students.

 The notice of awards is always an estimate of financial aid and is subject to change pending completion of review of tax returns, review of financial aid progress and other issues. If the aid is adjusted, changes will be reflected online. Students are encouraged to notify the Financial Aid Office if any scholarships are not listed or if the student declines any of the aid offered.

For students who are officially registered, have made their Intent to Attend and been confirmed as attending their courses, aid will be disbursed at the end of the third week of classes.  This allows for students to make changes to their schedules during the Drop/Add period (first week of classes) and still have their aid adjusted.  Refunds begin the next business day after aid is disbursed.

Aid may be adjusted if a change in enrollment occurs during the Drop/Add period (first week of classes).  Aid amounts are determined by the number of credits enrolled as well as type of instruction at the end of Drop/Add.  Full time for undergraduate students is 12-18 credits; anything less is considered part-time and grants would be affected.  The Stafford and PLUS loans remain the same as long as the students have at least six credits of enrollment.  

Please note: Aid may further be adjusted throughout the semester if it is discovered that a transfer student had in fact used aid during that academic year at another school or if a student withdraws during the semester.  Withdrawals will cause aid to be pro-rated based on attendance time.  Some aid would be reduced and returned to the provider.  In this case, students may be left with an amount due.  Prior to withdrawing from the university, it is encouraged that all aid recipients speak to Financial Aid Services.