TEACH Grant

ter — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:26:00 GMT

There's a new federal grant in town. It's called TEACH.

Beginning 2008-09, TEACH is available to students who agree to teach in a high-need field at a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families. Students can receive up to $4,000 per year in grant. Sounds good, right? Not necessarily.

To fulfill your TEACH obligations, you must teach for four consecutive years within eight calendar years of completing your program. If not, that grant turns into a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan and interest compounds from the date you received the grant. Clearly, this grant is for the student who seriously intends to fulfill the requirements.

Let's say you receive 2 years of TEACH for $8,000. After graduation, you are unable to find a teaching job that meets the requirements until 5 years later. Obviously, you can't teach for 4 years within the 8 year deadline, so your grant will turn into unsubsidized loan with interest backdated to the dates you received the TEACH grant. The grant should actually turn into a loan after the 4th year you have not been teaching in the required field.

Also keep in mind that while you may want to participate, your school has the option of whether or not to adminster the program. The rules and regulations were distributed very late, so even if your school does opt to participate, there may be a delay in administering the program. Also, schools are not required to find students who may be interested in the program. There is a question on the FAFSA you should answer if you wish to pursue this grant.

This post is not to go into the details of the program. You can read more on the TEACH Fact Sheet. It's very important that you be aware this could turn into a huge loan if you choose to participate. Should you decide to apply for TEACH, contact your school to determine if you meet the requirements. Each school has its own definition of acceptance into the teacher education program.

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Did You Graduate High School After January 2005?

ter — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:47:00 GMT

If so, you might be eligible for an Academic Competetiveness Grant (ACG). So what exactly is ACG? And how do you qualify? ACG is a federal grant awarded to first-year and second-year students who meet several college criteria, as well as have passed high school rigorous coursework. What the heck does "rigorous" mean? We'll get to that in a minute. First, to even be considered, you must meet the following:

Have graduated high school after January 1, 2005 for 2nd year students (usually sophomore)
Have graduated high school after January 1, 2006 for 1st year students (usually freshman)
Be a U.S. citizen
Be eligible for federal Pell Grant
Be enrolled full time in a degree program at two- or four-year degree granting institution
2nd year students must have at least a 3.0 grade point average out of a possible 4.0 (the 3.0 GPA is at the time the student becomes a 2nd year student. Raising a GPA to 3.0 after becoming a 2nd year student doesn't qualify)

The kicker here is being eligible for the federal Pell Grant. If you don't receive Pell, you won't receive the ACG because this grant is geared to needy students.

Now, if you meet the above criteria, your college will examine your high school transcript to determine if your high school courses meet the term "rigorous", which is passing high school courses in each of the following:

four years of English
three years of math, including Algebra I and higher level such as Algebra II or geometry
three years of science, with two of those years including biology, chemistry or physics
three years of social science
one year of foreign language other than English

If you meet everything I've outlined, you should qualify for the ACG. The grant pays up to $750 for first-year students and up to $1300 for second-year students. Keep in mind that your school determines first-year and second-year status, usually by your all hours earned.

There is a question on the FAFSA that asks if you qualify for this grant. However, schools are now required to check eligibility for all students regardless if they answered yes to this question. Don't rely on the school to come to you. Because this program is still in its infancy, schools may not have the manpower or resources to identify their students even though they're required to. If you think you qualify for this grant, contact your school for an evaluation.

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Financial Aid Answers - presented by eLearners.com : Grants

TEACH Grant

Did You Graduate High School After January 2005?