These grants are based are based on financial need and are for undergraduates. Grants range from $740 to $7,395 per year depending on EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) or SAI (Student Aid Index) as determined by the Federal Government through the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Awarded to undergraduate students with high financial need. Priority is given to Federal PELL grants recipients. Award ranges can vary between $100 to $1,000 per year at Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ. Eligibility is based on FAFSA.
You are eligible for a subsidized Stafford Loan if you are in school at least half time and have financial need. With a subsidized Stafford Loan, the Federal government will pay the interest while you are enrolled at least half time. A 1.057% origination fee is deducted from the value of the student loan prior to disbursement. This origination fee will remain the same at 1.057% for loans where the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 2024 and before October 1, 2025.
Repayment begins six months after the student graduates, leaves the university, or ceases to be enrolled at least half time. Effective for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2024 and prior to July 1, 2025 the interest rate is fixed at 6.53% for undergraduate students for the 2024-2025 academic year. The FAFSA application is required to determine loan eligibility.
Unsubsidized Stafford Loans for undergraduate students who do not have financial need. With an unsubsidized Stafford Loan, the borrower is required to pay interest while in school. Effective for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2024 and prior to July 1, 2025 the interest rate is fixed at 6.53% for undergraduate students. A 1.057% origination fee is deducted from the value of the student loan prior to disbursement. This origination fee will remain the same at 1.057% for loans where the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 2024 and before October 1, 2025.
Unsubsidized Stafford Loans for graduate students. With an unsubsidized Stafford Loan, the borrower is required to pay interest while in school. Effective for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2024 and prior to July 1, 2025 the interest rate is fixed at 8.08% for graduate students. A 1.057% origination fee is deducted from the value of the student loan prior to disbursement. This origination fee will remain the same at 1.057% for loans where the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 2024 and before October 1, 2025.
Annual Loan Limits - Direct Stafford Loans
Dependent Students
| Level of Study | Base Amount |
Additional Unsubsidized Loan |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Year | $3,500 | $2,000 | $5,500 |
| Sophomore | $4,500 | $2,000 | $6,500 |
| Junior or Senior | $5,500 | $2,000 | $7,500 |
Independent Students
| Level of Study | Base Amount |
Additional Unsubsidized Loan |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Year | $3,500 | $6,000 | $9,500 |
| Sophomore | $4,500 | $6,000 | $10,500 |
| Junior or Senior | $5,500 | $7,000 | $12,500 |
| Graduate Students | N/A | $20,500 | $20,500 |
This is a Unsubsidized Federal Loan that allows parents to borrow on behalf of their dependent undergraduate children who are enrolled at least half time. Borrowers are responsible for the interest that accrues on a PLUS loan and repayment begins usually sixty days after the funds are disbursed. Effective for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2024 and prior to July 1, 2025 the interest rate for the 2024-2025 academic year is fixed at 9.08%. A 4.228% origination fee is deducted from the value of the loan prior to disbursement. This origination fee will remain the same at 4.228% for loans where the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 2024 and before October 1, 2025.
This is a Unsubsidized Federal Loan that allows graduate students to borrow on his or her own behalf up to the cost of attendance minus other financial aid. Note: Parents are not eligible to borrow Federal PLUS Loans for graduate and professional students. Effective for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2024 and prior to July 1, 2025 the interest rate for the 2024-2025 academic year is fixed at 9.08%. A 4.228% origination fee is deducted from the value of the loan prior to disbursement. This origination fee will remain the same at 4.228% for loans where the first disbursement is made on or after October 1, 2024 and before October 1, 2025.
This is a federally funded work program based on financial need. Students typically work 10 hours per week during the academic year and receive a bi-weekly paycheck. Participants in the Federal Work Study program are primarily employed on campus, however there are occasions where students work off-campus in community service positions. Students are paid the minimum hourly wage. Students who are eligible for federal work study will have an opportunity to apply for jobs posted on the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Employee Engagement Student Employment website. An award of Federal Work Study does not guarantee job placement.
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. Schools serving low-income students include any elementary or secondary school that is listed in the .
- Undergraduate study: maximum of $4,000 per year for the first baccalaureate to a maximum of $16,000.
- Graduate study: maximum of $4,000 per year for a master's degree to a maximum of $8,000.
Additional information regarding the TEACH grant can be found at
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 (see below for more information on high-need fields). 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. Note: TEACH Grant recipients will be given a 6-month grace period prior to entering repayment if a TEACH Grant is converted to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
Student Eligibility Requirements
To receive a TEACH Grant you must meet the following criteria:
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), although you do not have to demonstrate financial need.
- Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
- Be enrolled as an undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate student in a postsecondary educational institution that has chosen to participate in the TEACH Grant Program.
- Be enrolled in course work that is necessary to begin a career in teaching or plan to complete such course work. Such course work may include subject area courses (e.g., math courses for a student who intends to be a math teacher).
- Meet certain academic achievement requirements (generally, scoring above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test or maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25.
- Sign a and complete TEACH Grant Initial and Subsequent counseling.
High-need fields are the specific areas identified below:
- Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
- Foreign Language
- Mathematics
- Reading Specialist
- Science
- Special Education
- Other identified teacher shortage areas as of the time you begin teaching in that field *
* These are teacher subject shortage areas (not geographic areas) that are listed in the .
As of July 1, 2010, a recipient of an initial TEACH Grant who has received an academic degree, or expertise, in a field that was, at the time the recipient signed the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve, designated as high-need, but no longer has that designation, can fulfill the service obligation associated with the TEACH Grant by teaching in that high-need field.
Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a . The TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve specifies the conditions under which the grant will be awarded, the teaching service requirements, and includes an acknowledgment by you that you understand that if you do not meet the teaching service requirements you must repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued from the date the grant funds were disbursed. Specifically, the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve will require the following:
- For each TEACH Grant-eligible program for which you received TEACH Grant funds, you must serve as a full-time teacher for a total of at least four academic years within eight calendar years after you completed or withdrew from the academic program for which you received the TEACH Grant.
- You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher at a low-income school. The term highly-qualified teacher is defined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or in section 602(10) of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.
- Your teaching service must be in a high-need field.
- You must comply with any other requirements that the Department of Education determines to be necessary.
- If you do not complete the required teaching service obligation, TEACH Grant funds you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan that you must repay, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement.
Important Reminder
If you receive a TEACH Grant but do not complete the required teaching service, as explained above, you will be required to repay the grants as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement.