<p>Hi all, The college that my Daughter decided to go to has told me that they will not get involved with the new "Teach Grant" My daughter will need to take out around 10K per year and we where hoping to use the new "Teach grant" for 4K of it per year. She meets the requirements (top grades) but the college told me that is new and they are not getting involved until maybe spring. I guess what do they care we already sent the deposit.
Looking for anyway around them? Thanks. John G.</p>
<p>No Good, I found out that If the college does not get into the new "Teach" program the Govt can't do anything about it. Hope by spring. JG.</p>
<p>Yah, I would like to know the same thing as well. I got offered it, does anyone know of any stipulations to it besides meeting all the requirements? Does it seem worth it? Not sure, I'm still debating on weather to take it or not -- I don't want to be stuck in a whole when I get out of college with this over my head....Any insight??</p>
<p>John,</p>
<p>I feel for your situation, but maybe if I shed some light on it from the institution's point of view, it might ease the sting of their decision just a bit.</p>
<p>My institution is currently discussing whether we will participate with the TEACH grant. We are a small LAC with multiple teaching programs. While making the decision, we have stumbled upon very confusing information. The regulations surrounding the TEACH grant are not clear...in fact, they are very fuzzy. Part of the regulations state that the student must "express desire to teach" even if they are not enrolled in a teaching program. Others state that they must be enrolled in a program that would lead them towards teaching in a qualified field. We are very confused on how we would even initialize the grant funding. On top of the confusion, the application the school must complete in order to qualify still has not been posted....and neither has the certification that each student must complete through the Department of Education. The student certification is the deciding factor that tells the school whether a student is qualified for the grant.</p>
<p>In talking with colleagues, many have already made the decision to forego offering the TEACH grant this first year because there are too many unanswered questions. They are concerned that if they make mistakes, it could do more harm than good for their students.</p>
<p>We are still trying to make our decision, while consulting with "experts"...but each expert we speak to translates the policies differently.</p>
<p>Again, I do sympathize with your situation...and I do understand how valuable a 4k grant would be to ALL students. I have multiple students that the grant would help as well. I just wish the regulations were written more clearly...then we wouldn't even be discussing the grant, it would just be put into place.</p>
<p>Nikkiil
Thanks for the info. Who do you think we should contact with our displeasure. Shocking another federal program gone to waist. John G.</p>
<p>Quite honestly, there isn't anyone to contact. Each school is given the choice to participate. Unlike other federal programs, this one is currently not mandatory for schools to issue. Eventually it might become mandatory, like Pell and Stafford Loans, but who knows for sure. My recommendation would be to just stay in contact with the Financial Aid Office so you will know as soon as they decide to offer the grant.</p>
<p>There are a few things that you really would have had to consider if you used the TEACH grant. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>First, it is a huge commitment to say that you will work for four years in a high need, low income area. </p></li>
<li><p>Second: If you do not fulfill the commitment within 8 years of graduation, the grant reverts to an UNSUBSIDIZED LOAN with interest calculated from the date of disbursement. While I am sure that many students who pursue a degree in teaching follow through, there is always the possibility of a change of major. There is also the possibility that a student could have good intentions, and then decide that the low-income area is too dangerous. </p></li>
<li><p>Finally, how will the schools treat this grant in terms financial aid?? It is called a "grant", but because of the commitment it is really not "free money" Will it reduce other scholarships and grant money?? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>As it stands right now, I am not a big fan of this program, and I'm guessing that until all the details are worked out many schools will not participate for the reasons mentioned by Nikill.</p>
<p>UPDATE: I asks the Feds the same question:
"RE:TEACH GRANT: How will the schools treat this grant in terms financial aid?? It is called a "grant", but because of the commitment it is really not "free money" Will it reduce other scholarships and grant money?? "
Thank you. John G
THE ANSWER:
Thank you for your inquiry about federal student aid.</p>
<p>The College Cost Reduction and Access Act (P.L. 110-84) established the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program for students who plan to become teachers and current teachers who are obtaining graduate degrees. TEACH Grants will be available beginning with the 2008-2009 award year (July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009). </p>
<p>On March 21, 2008, the U.S. Department of Education published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register that proposes the rules that will apply to the new TEACH Grant Program. The comment period for this NPRM ended on April 21, 2008. The Department is currently reviewing the comments and will publish implementing regulations for the program after its review is complete. </p>
<p>The regulations for the TEACH Grant Program will be posted on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site (<a href="http://www.ifap.ed.gov)%5B/url%5D">www.ifap.ed.gov)</a>. The Department will also send an electronic announcement to all participating schools when the new regulations are published.</p>
<p>We hope this information is helpful. </p>
<p>E-Mail Unit
Student Aid on the Web
FSA</a> Portals
Federal Student Aid</p>
<p>John,</p>
<p>The unhelpful information they sent you is part of the reason schools have decided not to award the TEACH grant this year...they aren't even sure what the rules are yet.</p>
<p>They really should have someone actually from a financial aid background on the committees that write these grant programs. It seems like they had the same sort of issues with the ACG and SMART programs where they were so difficult to implement and people actually missed out on possible funding because of confusion over the rules and also just badly written rules (like the number of credit hours to maintain eligibility that didn't seem to reflect the reality for the average student). It seems that the ACG and SMART rules are only now beginning to make sense after what - 2-3 years? Sadly it will probably be the same for the teach grants.</p>
<p>My daughter is not planning to be a teacher so this does not affect her - the whole reverting to an unsub loan with interest dating back to he issue of the loan would be a bit scary to me.</p>
<p>Nikki, how are SEOGH funds and Perkins loans distributed among colleges? Why do some colleges have those funds available for disbursement and others do not. Is there a master list that tells you who (which schools) has those monies?</p>
<p>cpt, I am really not sure how those funds are distributed.</p>
<p>The part of the Grant converting back to a Stafford loan would not hurt her because the Stafford loan rate is still lower than the private loan she will be taking to make up the difference. I hope they get it stright for next year. JG.</p>