Apply through fafsa.gov (See below for instructions). Students may be eligible to receive a maximum loan of $20,500. Eligibility is not dependent on income, but based on the financial aid cost of attendance. Please note that you will be charged interest from the time the loan is disbursed, to the time the loan is repaid in full. The interest rate is set by the Federal Government.
The Federal Student Loan Program offers a loan forgiveness opportunity for teachers who have been teaching full-time in a low income school for 5 consecutive years, in grades Pre-1A through twelfth grade. A Special Education teacher may receive up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness. Eligible teaching may include working as a P3 provider in a school setting or working for an agency such as Tree of Knowledge or Catapult. Upon completion of their 5 years of teaching, eligible students complete an application and submit it to their loan provider (printed on all repayment statements.)
Students with a Stafford Loan who are currently teaching (and working toward accumulating 5 consecutive years), are eligible to apply for either a loan forgiveness forbearance or deferment, which will defer loan repayment while the student completes the 5 consecutive-year obligation. Once the 5-year obligation is met, students may apply for loan forgiveness. Please note that interest will accrue over the 5 years of teaching.
Loan cancellation and loan forbearance applications may be accessed through your lender, or online at www.studentaid.gov. You may call the TTI Hotline at 877-RING-TTI ext. 11 for further information and applications.
Through the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, Congress created the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program that provides grants of up to $4,000 per year to students who intend to teach in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families. In exchange for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must agree to serve as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students. As a recipient of a TEACH Grant, you must teach for at least four academic years within eight calendar years of completing the program of study for which you received a TEACH Grant.
IMPORTANT: If you fail to complete this service obligation, all amounts of TEACH Grants that you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. You must then repay this loan to the U.S. Department of Education. You will be charged interest from the date the grant(s) was disbursed.
Students who wish to apply for the TEACH Grant should first complete their FAFSA application. After the FAFSA has been approved a student can go online at studentaid.gov/teach-grantprogram and sign an ATS. (Agreement to Serve) and complete the TEACH Grant Counseling to receive the Grant funds. Please go to the ATS website for more information.
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