Scholarships » Teach Grant

TEACH (Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education) Grant

Amount of Grant: The TEACH Grant Program will provide up to $4,000.00 per year ($8,000.00 total for graduate studies) in grants to students who plan to teach full-time in high-need subject areas at schools that serve students from low-income families.  Three-quarter students (9-11 credits/points) can receive up to $3,000.00 per year; half-time students (6-8 credits/points) can receive up to $2,000.00 per year; and less-than-half-time students (1-5 credits/points) can receive up to $1,000.00 per year.  (See Important Notes section below.)

Disbursement: Awards will be split into two disbursements, with each disbursement equaling no more than half of the annual award amount.

You may request cancellation of all or part of your TEACH Grant award:

• If you request cancellation before the first day of the payment period or within 14 days after your school notifies you of your grant, your school will return the funds and they will not be converted to a Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan

Teaching Obligation: Grant recipients agree to teach for at least four years within eight years of finishing their teacher preparation program and to teach high-need subjects in designated schools that serve low-income students.  If you do not complete the four-year teaching obligation, your grant will convert to an unsubsidized loan, which you will have to repay with interest calculated back to the date the funds were disbursed.

Schools serving low-income students search: https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp

Service Agreement: Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to serve (service agreement), which is available electronically on the U.S. Department of Education web site.  When you sign the service agreement, you are agreeing to the repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued from the date the grant funds were first disbursed, if you do not complete the teaching service requirement.  If the grant is converted to a loan, it cannot be converted back to a grant. .  (See Important Notes section below.)

Eligibility:

To be eligible for a TEACH Grant, you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
• Be enrolled in coursework or plan to complete coursework toward a career in teaching and/or in a high-need subject area (see list below)
• Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress and meet all other institutional requirements for maintaining enrollment
• Complete TEACH Grant counseling and sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve each year
• Complete a FAFSA, although you do not have to demonstrate financial need to be eligible

TEACH Grant- Eligible Programs at TC:

·         Art

·         Bilingual Education

·         English (Grades 5-9 and 7-12)

·         English as Second Language

·         Languages other than English

·         Mathematics (Grades 5-9 and 7-12)

·         Music

·         Physical Education

·         Reading and Literacy

·         Sciences (Grades 5-9 and 7-12)

·         Special Education (Bilingual)

·         Special Education (5-9 and 7-12)

Note: The field you teach in must be a high-need field in the state where you teach in order to satisfy your service requirement.

Documented high need fields website: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.doc

Documentation: You must confirm within 120 days of completing or otherwise ceasing enrollment in your teacher preparation program that you are fulfilling (or plan to fulfill) the terms and conditions of your service agreement.  You must document your teaching service by the chief administrative officer at the school where you teach.

• Complete and sumbit a FAFSA for 2009-2010 at www.fafsa.ed.gov
• Submit to the Office of Financial Aid the 2009-2010 Application for Federal TEACH Grant Application, found on the TC Financial  Aid Website at www.tc.edu/financialaid
• Complete the TEACH Grant Initial Counseling at: https://teach-ats.ed.gov/ats/index.action
• If approved by a financial aid officer, students will be required to sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (ATS) before their funds are released:  https://teach-ats.ed.gov/ats/index.action.

1.    If you are not already committed to teaching a high-need subject in a low-income school, please use caution when considering this possible source of funds.  According to some estimates, only 20 percent of students who participate in the TEACH Grant Program will be able to use the funds as grants, while many students will see their funds converted to loans with accumulated interest.

For additional information regarding the TEACH Grant Program, contact the Office of Financial aid at 212-678-3714 or financialaid@tc.edu.