West Chester University Financial Aid

Undergraduate: Incoming New Students

What is Not Changing: Students should still file the FAFSA form each fall term in order to be considered for maximum aid including the federal Pell grant, Direct Loans, Federal Work Study, and to initiate the PA State Grant process. Initial Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans will still be based on the number of credits you have earned and your dependency status on the FAFSA form. PA Residents will still need to complete PA State Grant forms by signing in at https://grantus.pheaa.org.  

Grow PA Scholarship In-State: $5,000 Scholarship for students who plan to live and work in PA for in a qualifying position for the number of years they receive the scholarship. Otherwise, this scholarship turns into a loan to be paid back to PA. Students can review which programs qualify and access the annual application at https://wcupa./growpa.

Grow PA Waiver Out of State: Waiver award amount is the difference between out-of-state and in-state tuition amounts. For students who plan to live and work in PA for a qualifying position for the number of years they receive the scholarship. Otherwise, this scholarship turns into a loan to be paid back to PA. Students can review which programs qualify and access the annual application at https://wcupa./growpa.

New PLUS Loan Limit: $20,000 per year per student and $65,000 lifetime limit per student. Parents would still apply and be considered via  credit check at https://studentaid.gov, and if denied the student would still be considered for additional unsubsidized loan funding.

If parents or students are looking for additional amounts beyond the new $20,000 annual loan limit, they can use WCU’s Private Loan comparison tool at https://wcupa.edu/privateloans.  

Reduced Annual Federal Direct Loans for less than full-time Enrollment: Undergraduate students are required to enroll and earn 24 credits per year in order to receive their maximum federal loan eligibility based on their grade level (number of credits they have earned). If a student is enrolled in fewer than 12 credits at the end of the add/drop period then their current federal loan amount for the term will be pro-rated. If a student earns fewer than 12 credits in a term then their future loan amount for the spring term will be pro-rated. Summer will still be considered based on remaining eligibility that was not used during the fall and spring term. 

Example: Student is enrolled: 12 credits in the Fall term and 9 Credits  in the Spring term = 21/24 credits therefore if the student qualifies for $5500 in an Unsubsidized Federal Loan the disbursements would be reduced to($4812)  $2750 Fall/ $2062 Spring*. 

New Consortium Workflow (Students taking classes outside of WCU): Required  to submit Transfer Credit Permission Forms to Registrar or Global Engagement Office before Consortiums to Financial Aid. The consortium form will now be something the student can request online at https://wcupa.verifymyfafsa.com. Students will be asked to upload copies of their Transfer Credit Permissions forms and in some cases their class schedules from the Host Schools. Transcripts for earned credits need to be received prior to the next term’s disbursement if the student is using federal loan funding during the academic year. 

Undergraduate: Currently Enrolled Students

What is Not Changing: Students should still file the FAFSA form each fall term in order to be considered for maximum aid including the federal Pell grant, Direct Loans, Federal Work Study, and to initiate the PA State Grant process. Initial Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans will still be based on the number of credits you have earned and your dependency status on the FAFSA form. PA Residents will still need to complete PA State Grant forms by signing in at https://grantus.pheaa.org.   

Grow PA Scholarship In-State: $5,000 Scholarship for students who plan to live and work in PA for in a qualifying position for the number of years they receive the scholarship. Otherwise, this scholarship turns into a loan to be paid back to PA. Students can review which programs qualify and access the annual application at https://wcupa./growpa.

Grow PA Waiver Out of State: Waiver award amount is the difference between out-of-state and in-state tuition amounts. For students who plan to live and work in PA for a qualifying position for the number of years they receive the scholarship. Otherwise, this scholarship turns into a loan to be paid back to PA. Students can review which programs qualify and access the annual application at https://wcupa./growpa. 

Reduced Annual Federal Direct Loans for less than full-time Enrollment: Undergraduate students are required to enroll and earn 24 credits per year to receive their maximum federal loan eligibility based on their grade level (number of credits they have earned). If a student is enrolled in fewer than 12 credits at the end of the add/drop period, then their current federal loan amount for the term will be pro-rated. If a student earns fewer than 12 credits in a term, then their future loan amount for the spring term will be pro-rated. Summer will still be considered based on remaining eligibility that was not used during the fall and spring term. 

Example: Student is enrolled: 12 credits in the Fall term and 9 Credits  in the Spring term = 21/24 credits therefore if the student qualifies for $5500 in an Unsubsidized Federal Loan the disbursements would be reduced to($4812)  $2750 Fall/ $2062 Spring*. 

Legacy (Federal Loan Exception to OBBBA) vs. First Time Borrower: If the 2026-2027 academic year is the first time borrowing federal direct loans for your current credential at WCU, then the Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan limit is $20,000 per year and $65,000 total. Students and parents who are in need of more than $20,000 per year can still borrow funding through private education loans. Please see WCU’s Private Loan Comparison tool. 

Students who have borrowed direct loans prior to July 1, 2026 will be considered a “legacy” and be provided a period of exception to the new loan limits. This means student and their parents can still borrow up to the cost of attendance for PLUS loans. Students can maintain legacy status if they remain continuously enrolled* in the same degree program** for up to 3 years.

       *If students withdraw from a term or a take a term off from the fall/spring academic year then they will lose their exception (“legacy”) status.

       **If students enroll in more than the prescribed program length (Example: Enrolled in a 5th year of a 4-year program  then they will lose their exception (“legacy”) status.

Degree Audit Requirements for Federal Aid: As part of the new Ram Portal Degree Audit students can track how their classes are being used towards degree requirements.  For credits to count for federal financial aid, enrolled classes must satisfy a degree requirement or approved elective requirement for your program of study. If the class is not satisfying a requirement, students may see a notation in Degree Audit that labels the class is a “fall out” class which may impact a student’s federal aid eligibility for that term. 

New Consortium Workflow (Students taking classes outside of WCU): Required  to submit Transfer Credit Permission Forms to Registrar or Global Engagement Office before Consortiums to Financial Aid. The consortium form will now be something the student can request online at https://wcupa.verifymyfafsa.com. Students will be asked to upload copies of their Transfer Credit Permissions forms and in some cases their class schedules from the Host Schools. Transcripts for earned credits need to be received prior to the next term’s disbursement if the student is using federal loan funding during the academic year. 

Graduate: Incoming New Students

What is Not Changing: Students still need to file a FAFSA each year in order to be considered for federal loan funding each year at https://studentaid.gov.  Summer will continue to be a trailer term and therefore students will only be offered federal loans for the summer if they are enrolled half-time and have not previously borrowed their maximum during the fall and spring terms. 

Definition of Full Time and Half Time Status for Financial Aid: Starting in the 26-27 academic year for federal financial aid purposes, 6 credits per term will be considered full-time and 3 credits per term will be considered half-time. Therefore, students enrolled in 3 credits will now satisfy the half-time requirement for graduate level federal loan eligibility.

Professional vs. Non-Professional Federal Unsubsidized Loan Limits: Starting in 26-27, per OBBBA regulations, Doctor of Clinical Psychology (PsyD) students can borrow up to $50,000 in federal direct unsubsidized loans or up to their cost of attendance (if less than $50,000 per year). As for other graduate programs (considered non-professional per federal definition) will be able to borrow up to $20,500 or up to their cost of attendance.

Direct Loan Pro-Ration for Less Than Full-time: If a student is taking 4 cr in fall and 4 cr in spring then would be 8/12 credits: would be limited to $13,666 for the year instead of $20,500. 
 Graduate PLUS Loan: Starting July 1st 2026, only students who have previously borrowed under their current program/level will be able to continue to access the graduate PLUS loan as a legacy student for a maximum of 3 years. The Graduate PLUS loan will not be available to new direct loan borrowers in graduate programs. 

New Aggregate Loan Limits: $100,000 is the new federal loan limit for all graduate students in non-professional programs. The $100,000 limit is specifically for graduate level borrowing and does not include prior loans borrowed at the undergraduate level. Clinical Psychology students (professional students) can borrow up to $200,000, not including undergraduate loan amounts. The new student lifetime total for both graduate and undergraduate loans is $257,000.

Graduate: Returning Students

What is Not Changing: Students still need to file a FAFSA each year in order to be considered for federal loan funding each year at https://studentaid.gov.  Summer will continue to be a trailer term and therefore students will only be offered federal loans for the summer if they are enrolled half-time and have not previously borrowed their maximum during the fall and spring terms. 

Definition of Full Time and Half Time: Starting in the 26-27 academic year for federal financial aid purposes, 6 credits per term will be considered full-time and 3 credits per term will be considered half-time. Therefore, students enrolled in 3 credits will now satisfy the half-time requirement for graduate level federal loan eligibility.

Legacy (Federal Loan Exception to OBBBA) vs. First Time Borrower: 

Students who have borrowed direct loans prior to July 1, 2026 will be considered a “legacy” and be provided a period of exception to the new loan limits. This means graduate students can still borrow up to the cost of attendance in a Graduate PLUS loan. Students can maintain legacy status if they remain continuously enrolled* in the same degree program** for up to 3 years.

       *If students withdraw from a term or a take a term off from the fall/spring academic year then they will lose their exception (“legacy”) status.

       **If students enroll in more than the prescribed program length (Example: Enrolled in a 3rd year of a 2-year program then they will lose their exception (“legacy”) status.

Professional vs. Non-Professional Federal Unsubsidized Loan Limits (Only New borrowers who do not qualify for legacy): Starting in 26-27 PsyD students can begin to borrow up to $50,000 in federal loans or their cost of attendance whichever is less. All other graduate programs will be able to borrow up to $20,500 or up to their cost of attendance whichever is less.  

Reduced Annual Federal Direct Loans for less than full-time Enrollment: Graduate students are required to enroll and earn 12 credits per year to receive their maximum federal loan eligibility based on their program plan. If a student is enrolled in fewer than 6 credits at the end of the add/drop period, then their current federal loan amount for the term will be pro-rated. If a student earns fewer than 6 credits in a term, then their future loan amount for the spring term will be pro-rated. Summer will still be considered based on remaining eligibility that was not used during the fall and spring term. 

Example: Student is enrolled: 6 credits in the Fall term and 3 Credits in the Spring term = 9/12 credits therefore if the student qualifies for $20,500 in an Unsubsidized Federal Loan the disbursements would be reduced to($15,375)  $10,250 Fall/ $5,125 Spring*. 

Graduate PLUS Loan: Starting July 1st, 2026, only students who have previously borrowed under their current program and credential level will be able to continue to access the graduate PLUS loan as a legacy student for a maximum of 3 years. The Graduate PLUS loan will not be available to incoming student direct loan borrowers in graduate programs even if they previously borrowed at another school or a different credential level at WCU. 

New Aggregate Loan Limits: $100,000 is the new federal loan limit for all graduate students in non-professional programs. The $100,000 limit is specifically for graduate level borrowing and does not include prior loans borrowed at the undergraduate level. Clinical Psychology students (professional students) can borrow up to $200,000, not including undergraduate loan amounts. The new student lifetime total for both graduate and undergraduate loans is $257,000.

*Students who borrowed graduate loans prior to July 1, 2026, may have up to 3 years of continued eligibility will still be reviewed under old limits ($138,500 including undergraduate loans). 

Degree Audit Requirements for Federal Aid: As part of the new Ram Portal Degree Audit students can track how their classes are being used towards degree requirements.  For credits to count for federal financial aid, enrolled classes must satisfy a degree requirement or approved elective requirement for your program of study. If the class is not satisfying a requirement, students may see a notation in Degree Audit that labels the class is a “fall out” class which may impact a student’s federal aid eligibility for that term. 

New Disbursement & Refund Schedule

Disbursement of all Financial Aid is moving to after add/drop starting Fall 2026

• Final Enrollment after add/drop will be utilized to determine any necessary adjustments ahead of disbursement for financial aid. 
• Less than full-time students will see adjustment to financial aid including the following programs: Federal Direct loan, Pell, PHEAA, and even some scholarships if the fund requires full-time status. 
• Private and PLUS loans may be reduced if students drop classes and their cost of attendance is reduced as a result. 
• For WCU to be considered compliant with federal, state, and scholarship program regulations. Refunds will no longer be issued before the start of the term. Refunds will now begin to be issued after the add/drop period of each term when formal recalculation of aid and disbursement begins. 
• Students who will be living off-campus and need documentation for their landlords should contact the Financial Aid office for assistance documenting their anticipated refund amount. 

Graduating and Withdrawn Students

Exit Counseling Workshops: Students who are ceasing enrollment are encouraged to attend an Exit Counseling Workshop in addition to completing the required exit counseling tutorial at https://studentaid.gov. Exit Counseling information including upcoming workshops can be found at: https://www.wcupa.edu/financialAid/exit-counseling.aspx  

Term Withdrawn Students: Loss of “Legacy” Status: If a student was grandfathered into legacy provisions of OBBBA, including access to a graduate PLUS loan and former federal direct loan limits, they will lose their legacy status if they take a semester off or term withdraw. Continued enrollment is required to maintain legacy status. 

New Repayment Plans: 

Starting on July 1, 2026, the federal student loan system will have a new set of repayment options for new loans. If you borrow after that date, you’ll have two repayment plans to choose from:

Standard Repayment Plan: This plan features fixed monthly payments and spans 10 to 25 years, depending on your loan amount.

Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP): This plan offers an income-driven approach, setting your payments at 1% to 10% of your adjusted gross income (or a flat $10 per month if your income is less than $10,000 per year). Students can qualify for forgiveness if they are still carrying a balance after 30 years of repayment. 

Parent PLUS loans will not be eligible for the new Repayment Assistance Plan. Currently, the only income-driven plan available to Parent PLUS borrowers is Income-Contingent Repayment — and only if you consolidate your loans first.

Forbearance and Deferment: 

New federal student loans as of July 1, 2027 are ineligible for economic hardship or unemployment deferments, which let you pause payments when you couldn’t afford them. Forbearance will also be limited to a maximum period of nine months during a two-year period. Currently, forbearance lets you pause payments for up to 12 months at a time.