International Undergraduate Financial Aid at the University of Pennsylvania

An overview of the financial aid options available to international undergraduate students at Penn, including eligibility requirements, grant and work‑study funding, loan considerations, tax implications, and travel assistance for home‑country travel.

Eligibility International undergraduate students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States, Canada, or Mexico are eligible for institutional need‑based aid. Penn follows a need‑aware admissions process for these students, meaning that the financial aid decision is made at the same time as the admission decision. Students must submit an aid application concurrently with their admission application. If a student is not admitted with aid in the first year, they are not eligible to apply for aid later in their undergraduate program. Funding Options Penn allocates more than $10 million each year in financial aid to non‑citizen, non‑permanent‑resident students. Because international students are generally ineligible for U.S. federal funding, all aid they receive is institutional and comes in the form of grants and work‑study. Penn commits to meet 100 % of demonstrated need with grant funds and work‑study, just like domestic students. Loans International students who wish to obtain a loan should consult a financial aid counselor. Loans typically require a U.S. co‑signer, and the source text indicates that students should be prepared to identify a co‑signer. Tax Considerations Grant funding received by international students may be subject to U.S. taxes. The student account will show any taxes paid on the student’s behalf. These taxes cannot be offset by additional grant funding. Students may recover some of the tax burden by filing an annual U.S. tax return. Travel Assistance Penn’s Student Financial Aid (SFA) may provide grant funding to aid international students with air travel expenses to their home country. The assistance is limited to travel to and from the student’s permanent address in their home country and does not cover study‑abroad programs, hotel stays, or other travel costs. Approval is not guaranteed; the application must be submitted with a completed Travel Assistance Form and flight itinerary. Deadlines The source text does not provide explicit application deadlines for financial aid or travel assistance. Students should verify deadlines directly with Penn’s financial aid office. Unknowns • Specific application deadlines for aid and travel assistance. • Exact amounts of grant or work‑study funding per student. • Detailed eligibility criteria beyond the general need‑aware admissions policy. Source Limitations The provided source is a lengthy, repetitive webpage that includes many duplicated sections and lacks clear navigation. It does not contain explicit dates, URLs, or contact details for the aid application process. Consequently, the information should be cross‑checked with official Penn resources before use. Source: https://srfs.upenn.edu/financial-aid/international Checked: 2026-10-05T09:40:30.549890+00:00 Confirm details with the official institution before applying.