Newly Admitted Students » Understanding Your Award Letter

 

• Some things to take into account:

The cost of attendance (COA), for a standard Fall/Spring Budget:

  

			ENROLLMENT:
PERIOD			FULL	THRQ	HALF
Fall/Spring	Books & Supplies		$3,840	$2,880	$1,920
9 months	College Fee		$716	$716	$716
	Personal Expenses		$5,200	$5,200	$5,200
	Room & Board		$23,400	$23,400	$23,400
	Transportation		$4,000	$4,000	$4,000
	Tuition		$26,040	$19,530	$13,020
	TOTAL		$63,196	$55,726	$48, 256

•          COA: Estimated total cost of attending a postsecondary institution for a specified period of time, as established by law (Includes Books and Supplies, College Fees, Personal Expenses, Room and Board, Transportation, Tuition)

•          Figures will vary for each student depending on several factors, (i.e. enrollment status, residency location, etc.)

•          Full-Time (FULL) = 12+ points, Half-Time (HALF) = 6 points, Three Quarter (THRQ) = 9 points

•          One “point” is equivalent to one academic credit.

•          COA calculated using our current tuition rate of $1,085 per point.*

 

* Tuition rate is subject to change for 2009-2010 academic year.

 

 

-          Graduate Assistantships:

o        Positions generally offer a monetary stipend and/or an additional award of tuition points for work within a given academic department.

o        Assistantships are not available for full-time TC employees.

o        There are three different graduate assistantship titles:

§         Research/Teaching Graduate Assistant

§         Graduate Administrative Assistant

§         Doctoral Research Fellowship Graduate Assistant

-          Fellowships:

o        An award made directly to an individual in support of specific educational pursuits; Fellowships generally offer a monetary stipend and/or an additional award of tuition points in exchange for some type of work or assistance.

o        All students are encouraged to apply.

-          Scholarships:

o        Scholarships may be:

§         Internal - given out by academic departments and Enrollment Services

·         You must have completed the TC Scholarship Application by the priority admissions deadline in order to be considered.

§         External - Endowed; provided through the generosity of donors' contributions

·         Faculty committees select the award recipients based upon criteria designated by the donor.

·         You must complete the TC Scholarship Application in order to be considered.

·         Many endowed scholarships are in support of students in particular programs.

§         Based on either Need or Merit

o        Addition information regarding scholarship opportunities can be found under the “Scholarship” tab of our main Financial Aid website.

o        Different types of TC scholarships:

§         General Scholarships -

·         Merit-based awards

·         All students are eligible

·         Program faculty committees make award decisions

§         Minority Student Scholarships –

·         Students must be U.S. citizens and complete an application for financial aid

·         Priority consideration will be given to students who have self-identified on the application as either members of a federally recognized U.S. ethnic minority group or as having a federally recognized disability.

·         Other factors, such as increasing diversity at Teachers College, one’s geographic origin, and socioeconomic background are also taken into consideration.

·         Program faculty committees make award decisions

§         International Student Scholarships –

·         Available to international students only

·         Program faculty committees make award decisions

-          We also encourage you to utilize outside resources!

o        Via the Web:

§         Browse our website for External Funding Sources ( http://www.tc.columbia.edu/financialaid/index.asp?Id=Scholarships&Info=External+Funding+Sources )

§         Visit FastWeb! www.fastweb.com

§         CollegeBoard, www.collegeboard.com

§         Scholarships.com

o        Contact private affiliation, such as:

§         Past and present employers (Occasionally, tuition exemption and remission programs exist for employees enrolled at academic institutions.)

§         Civic and social organizations

§         Various foundations

§         Religious or professional groups

-          Grants:

o        Have specifications regarding eligibility criteria, grantee obligations, and reporting requirements that must be strictly adhered to in order to receive funding.

o        Grants are awarded by departments

 

o        Federal TEACH Grant:

§         For students who are committed to teaching full-time in high-need subject areas at schools that serve low-income families

§         Can receive up to $4,000 per year

§         Eligible programs at TC include:

·         Art, Bilingual Education, English, English as a Second Language, Languages other than English, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education, Reading and Literacy, Sciences, Special Education (Bilingual or Grades 5-9, 7-12)

§         In order to be considered, you must:

·         Be enrolled in coursework or plan to complete coursework toward a career in teaching and/or in a designated high-need subject area

·         Be eligible to receive federal student aid

§         You do not need to be enrolled at least half-time to receive the TEACH Grant.

-          Federal Work-Study:

o        For those offered Federal Work-Study:

§         Students must be enrolled in at least 6 credits (half-time) to remain eligible

§         Positions are “First-come, first-serve”

§         Generally, students will work at a location on-campus or an approved off-campus site

§         May work no more than 18-20 hours a week

§         Wages typically range from $10.oo-$15.00/hour; will vary by position and department