University of Pennsylvania
PA-8: Affordability and Access

• Penn’s grant-based undergraduate financial aid program meets 100% of demonstrated financial need with grants and work-study funding, making it possible for students to graduate with a world-class undergraduate degree debt-free. At the graduate level, each of the graduate and professional schools offers program-specific financial aid and counseling on federal and private loans.
  • For more information on the Penn Financial Aid package, visit: https://srfs.upenn.edu/financial-aid.
• In response to the increasing financial needs of students from middle-income families, Penn is announcing The Quaker Commitment, a series of new financial aid policies effective for the 2025-2026 academic year, specifically designed to enhance the financial aid packages of middle-income students.
  • For more information on the Quaker Committment, visit: https://srfs.upenn.edu/quaker-commitment. 
• The Power of Penn Campaign is expanding Penn’s robust undergraduate grant-based financial aid program and growing graduate and professional student aid to minimize the burden of debt. Penn is building spaces like the New College House West that unite people with common interests under one roof, and empower first-generation college students to achieve their full potential through the Penn First Plus initiative.
• Penn First Plus is the University of Pennsylvania’s hub for efforts to make the campus more inclusive of all forms of diversity, specifically at the intersections of social and economic background. Specifically, we expand access to the Penn experience for currently enrolled undergraduates who are the first in their families to pursue a bachelors degree in the United States of America or at an institution with the resources and opportunities of a highly selective private research university. Students who identify as lower-to-middle income are also part of our community of scholars.

The First-Generation, Low-Income (FGLI) Program opened in in 2016 at the Greenfield Intercultural Center (GIC), part of the Division of the Vice Provost for University Life. The FGLI Program supports students’ academic, personal, and social transition needs while facilitating community-building and a sense of belonging.

The Vice Provost for University Life's (VPUL) Equity and Access Programs nurture the academic aspirations of hundreds of local community members each year, from middle school through graduate study. Youth-based programs such as Talent Search, Upward Bound, and Upward Bound Math Science help to guide promising local middle and high school students toward college. Adult-based programs, including the Educational Opportunity Center and Veterans Upward Bound, assist adult community members seeking to return to education or extend their current educational experiences. These support services help students enhance learning in core academic subjects, manage time, find financial aid, meet mentors, and feel more confident about their abilities. Penn’s Equity and Access Programs provide community members a pipeline of opportunities for educational success.

The Provost Summer Mentorship Program (SMP) is an innovative four-week program geared to inspire first generation underrepresented students in Philadelphia to view higher education as an achievable goal. Students attending this program have the opportunity to participate in five of Penn's professional schools (Dental Medicine, Nursing, Engineering, Medicine, and Law). Over the course of the program, high school students gain first-hand exposure to an academic discipline and the opportunity to explore a variety of career opportunities. Since 2009, 255 SMP alumni (STEMMP included) out of 276 SMP alumni are either currently enrolled at or have graduated from a post-secondary institution. Since 2009, 21 total SMP alumni (STEMMP included) are either currently enrolled at or have graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. More information on the program can be found here: https://www.vpul.upenn.edu/eap/smp/