Federal Transfer Monitoring

The U.S Department of Education requires Penn State to confirm whether or not students have taken credits and used Federal Pell Grant or Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan funds at another institution during the most recent academic year. This will prevent us from awarding a Pell Grant and/or Subsidized/Unsubsidized loan in excess of your allowable yearly limits.

To indicate that we are collecting this information, a hold will be placed on your student record.

Screenshot of Federal Transfer Monitoring Hold in LionPATH

Timeline

The transfer monitoring hold will be placed on your student account and will expire in approximately 8-10 business days. This hold will be placed prior to the beginning of each semester so that we can upload the most current federal grant and loan information from the National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS). This will allow us to see if you have any pending or disbursed federal aid at another school for the current academic year prior to the upcoming semester disbursement(s) at Penn State.

Per federal guidelines, the transfer monitoring hold will be placed on ALL STUDENT accounts, not just transfer students. The hold cannot be removed prior to the 8-10 day review period.

Required Actions

If you are a Penn State student who has never attended another school:

When the updated NSLDS data loads into LionPATH, the hold will be removed from your record. No actions are required on your part.

If you are a Penn State student who has recently transferred from another school:

  • If it is determined that you have no pending aid at your previous school, and your financial aid amounts for both schools do not exceed your yearly limit(s), the hold will be removed once your record has been reviewed.
  • If it is determined that you have pending aid at your previous school, and your financial aid amounts for both schools exceed your yearly limit(s), the hold will remain on your record until your finncial at Penn State has been adjusted. Please also review the Transfer Students section for additional actions required.

Transfer Students

If you are a student who has transferred to Penn State for the current academic year, then please take note of the following:

  • If you have already filled out a FAFSA, please make sure to add Penn State’s school code: 003329
  • Cancel all pending aid at your previous institution. Your aid does not travel with you from one school to another.
  • Keep in mind that your financial aid eligibility may be limited depending on what aid you have received at your previous institution and your financial aid at Penn State may be reduced or cancelled accordingly.