Financial Literacy

Your Penn State education is an investment—not just of time, but of money. Last year, about two thirds of Penn Staters were eligible to receive student aid. For students receiving aid, the average student loan debt with which a graduate left Penn State in 2012 was just over $35,000. When you add in an average of around $3,000 of credit card debt for education expenses, spread out over two to three credit cards, the cost of attendance can impact you long after you've received your diploma. 

As you would with any major investment, you should be working on a plan for your Penn State investment. Your plan should include developing a budget, determining how you're going to pay for college, and considering what other financial commitments you have, such as a family, car, and/or home.

To help you with this planning, Penn State has some great tools available:

  • Though tuition is set each July, there is great information for you year-round at Penn State tuition Links to an external site.. A series of tuition calculators can assist you in planning for each semester and estimating the total cost of attendance.
  • Some of you are planning to use the veterans benefits provided for you as a result of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The World Campus Bursar's Office is available to assist you in leveraging those resources to help finance your education. You'll find more information for veterans and active-duty military personnel in the Veterans and Military module of this Orientation. 
  • Penn State's financial literacy Links to an external site. website has resources, calculators, and tips to help manage your finances.
  • MoneyCounts: A Financial Literacy Series Links to an external site. was developed at Outreach and Online Education as a collaborative effort with University Libraries and the Office of Adult Learner Advocacy to offer monthly workshops and webinars on topics relevant to students' interests.
  • Penn State's financial literacy center is developing a number of self-study modules Links to an external site. to help you with this important topic as well. These modules are interactive, self-paced, and an excellent resource to help you learn more about this important topic.