Last updated on November 1, 2024 by College Financial Aid Advice.
Application Deadline deadline not specified
Award Amount $4000 grant per year; recipients must teach 4 years at high need field for low-income students for each year of grant money, otherwise it converts to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loan.
Earn a TEACH grant from the Department of Education for undergraduate and graduate students interested in education and teaching in a high-need field at a school serving low income students. Applicants must score above the 75th percentile for college admission tests or maintain a GPA of 3.25 or higher to qualify. Current areas of need include bilingual education, English education, foreign language, mathematics, reading specialist, science and special ed. For more information about TEACH Grants and to apply online see studentaid.gov.
Application Deadline March of each year
Award Amount $1000 per year, up to 4 years
These teaching scholarships are offered to Latino students from California, Texas, Illinois and New York who are interested in teaching. They must be a first-generation college student, from a low-income family and have a GPA of 2.5 or greater. For additional requirements about these Latino Scholarships for Teachers and the online application see www.telacu.com
Application Deadline Applications may be submitted at any time
Award Amount $2500 per year, renewable for 3 years
These scholarships for teachers are open to those who are teaching or planning to teach people with intellectual disabilities. Applicants may be current teachers of students with intellectual disabilities who need additional course work, experienced teachers who wish to become certified, graduate students, college juniors or seniors or other focused on teaching those with intellectual disabilities in the US or Canada. For additional requirements about Intellectual Disabilities Scholarships for Teachers see www.uct.org
Application Deadline No longer offered
Award Amount $500 - $1000
Note: These Braintrack scholarships are no longer offered. These teaching scholarships were open to students working on an undergraduate degree in education, from kindergarten through grade 12. Applicants must have completed at least one semester of study. Essay required about their desire for teaching.
Application Deadline ~ March of each year
Award Amount $1000 per year, for 2 years (multiple awards)
This scholarship for teachers is available for undergraduates and graduates students of color who are enrolled in an accredited teaching program. GPA of 3.0 or higher and essay required on how Brown v. Board of Education has influenced their own life experiences. For additional requirements and scholarship information for this Minority Teacher Scholarship see brownvboard.org
Application Deadline ~ April of each year
Award Amount $1500 (multiple awards)
This scholarship for teachers is open to students who are 25 years of age and older who are at least in their sophomore year of college. They must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and be sponsored by a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Academic excellence, commitment to education and financial need are requirements. For additional requirements and scholarship information (Edward G. and Helen A. Borgens Elementary and Secondary Teacher Scholarships) see dar.org
Application Deadline varies
Award Amount $2500
These teaching scholarships are sponsored by the National Association of Federal Education Program Administrators. These scholarships are open to high school seniors and college freshmen who are interested in a degree in education. They must be nominated by their state affiliate of the sponsoring organization. Essay, extracurricular activities and financial need are part of the requirements. For more information see www.nafepa.org
Application Deadline ~ October of each year
Award Amount $1000 per year (multiple awards)
This scholarship for teachers is open to upper-division and master’s degree student preparing to teach journalism at the secondary school level. Current journalism teachers are also eligible to apply. Essay and college transcripts required. For additional requirements and scholarship information see www.jea.org
Application Deadline ~ May of each year
Award Amount $2500 (multiple awards)
These teaching scholarships are open to undergraduate and graduate students who are preparing for a career as a teacher of science and mathematics. It is open to college juniors, seniors and graduate students in the US who plan to teach science, information technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) at a middle or secondary school. GPA 3.0 or higher. Financial need is not required as this is a merit-based scholarship. For additional STEM Teachers Scholarship requirements and scholarship information see www.afcea.org
Student loans for teachers can be a challenge, unless you get some student loan debt forgiveness. Ms. Bobbie from Florida shares her story:
I took out a Student Loan 27 years ago to complete some classes and to renew my State Teaching Certificate. I only borrowed $3,000 for the Tuition and Fees at the Graduate School. I did very well in the classes but I did not handle my business well and as a result 2 consequences occurred
(1) - The classes and grades were sent out to
cover my certification. But I was never allowed to send for my transcripts
again...in that...I was unable to repay the loan of $3,000 as scheduled.
(2) - This highly affected my future career as
those 15 graduate credits never were verified by my Graduate University because
of my debt.
Later, as my finances became better, I set up a
payment schedule with the Department of Education. Then, subsequent to my
separation from my husband and as a single parent of 2 small children, money
became very, very tight.
I continued to teach Mathematics at the high
school and I enjoyed every minute of it; but, each month I failed to realize
that the missed payments would come back to “haunt me.”
Then, I noticed a pattern. It became apparent to
me that each time I called the Loan Holder and made a few payments I would
later get a NEW CONTRACT with a NEW LOAN HOLDER ( In other words, my Loan was
sold to another company!). I would get a NEW CONTRACT in the mail from a NEW
Loan Holder who had purchase my Student Loan.
To the best of my knowledge—I recall my Student
Loan of $3,000 was sold over 15 times and when I finally realized why my
payments did not appear to matter—at all. The total Balance of the Student Loan
was constantly going up. I decided, immediately, to recheck the paperwork that
I had stored from the various companies. I discovered a very, sad business
process was taking place. Each time my Student Loan Principal was sold, the
new company added the old interest and fees to the principal, and the total
became the NEW PRINCIPAL!!
FOR EXAMPLE
My OLD BALANCE, including principal, interest
and fees was $3,444. And the fees and interest were $301. The new company then
used this total as the principal of my load and continued to add more fees and
interest each month. Thus...$3,444 became $3,745 due under the new company!!!
I struggled to repay my Student Loan. And, when
I couldn't pay I often called and sometimes reset my payment schedule to try to
continue any payments. And each year I filed my taxes, my refund was credited
to my Student Loan. So, after borrowing $3,000 to go to graduate school...I now have a
balance of over $7,000 ($7000+) still after 27 years!!!
I am now 65+. I have retired from teaching
Mathematics and I am presently drawing my Social Security. An amount of 15% is
being deducted each month from my Social Security Check. After 27 years, my
loan balance is still over 200% of the original.
My Advice To Other Students...
(1) Please try NOT to take out a Student Loan
unless you truly believe you will be able to repay it within a few years of
leaving School. Make this form of financial aid...you LAST RESORT!!
(2) Search for Scholarships and Grants which DO NOT have to be REPAID!
(3) If you MUST take out a student
Loan....Please search for career locations which offer some reimbursement for
your services.
(4) If you have taken a Student Loan, try to pay
off the entire amount within the first 3 years of your career.
Finally,
FIND A WAY TO REPAY THE STUDENT LOAN...AFTER 5
YEARS even if you have to take out a Private Loan from your Bank, etc. !!!
MY STUDENT LOAN IS MY WORST NIGHT-Mare!
Try to avoid taking a Student Loan!
Teaching loan personal experience shared by Julie from Iowa
It keeps going, and going, and going… This theme
comes to mind when I think about the debt I have accrued in my quest for
educational advancement. Since 1996, I have earned a BA in elementary
education, an MA in educational technology, and an MA in k-12 school
counseling; including additional endorsements to become a middle school
generalist and to teach high school Spanish. Needless to say, these experiences
have helped to shape me into the school counselor I am today, but also have
created a large amount of educational debt.
As part of my exit requirements for my
undergraduate degree I had to attend the student loan repayment meeting that
everyone else attended. I remember sitting in the meeting scared out my wits as
I looked at the debt that I accrued and wondering how I would repay this debt.
It was at that meeting that I also learned of “loan percentage rates”. As if I
wasn’t frustrated enough, now I find out that I would be repaying thousands of
dollars I never even spent. The advice of the counselor that day was to pay a
little more than the monthly payment to help knock the cost off of the back end
of the loan. That was the best financial advice I have ever received.
In all, my education has a personal price tag of
$100,000. Due to the rising loan percentage rates, it seemed like my student
loan kept getting bigger and my payments would never end. And then about 5
years ago, I made it my number one goal to pay this amount off as soon as
possible, especially since my loans have been purchased by the government and
have a 6.8% rate on them. I took the advice I received on that spring day in
2000 and have put it into practice. Now that I am just around the corner from
making my last loan payment, the amount that has kept going and going each
month OUT of my paycheck will soon be mine.
As a school counselor, I feel it is my duty to explain my student loan experience and assist students in the borrowing process, just as the college loan counselor did for me. Loans are definitely different now than they were when I took out my first loan in 1996, but money conservation practices are much the same. I am fortunate to get to tell my story from a financially successful point of view. The process was long and I had to make many financial sacrifices along the way, however I would do it again all the same. As my grandma always told me, “You can never put a price tag on education. It is something that will stay with you forever.” It is my hope that this mentality keeps going, and going, and going…
You may also qualify for other types of scholarships and financial aid, that can be applied to a teaching career. Check out some information below.
Scholarships for 2025 - 2026 - It is never too early or too late to work on your scholarship searches. If you are part of the high school class of 2025, you should work on your scholarship and college search now. See our list of Scholarships for High School Seniors
FAFSA - The official 2024 - 2025 FAFSA is available now. The 2025 - 2026 FAFSA will be available on or before December 1. FAFSA.
Scholarship Lists An overview of the different types of Scholarship Money for College.
Grants Learn more about grants, the other free money for college.
Need Tuition Help? Reduce the cost of tuition with these college Tuition Assistance Programs.
Tax Credit Claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit.
College Savings Plans Save money for college with these College Savings Plans.
Need a Student Loan? Yes, you qualify for these college Student Loans.
Scholarships for High School Students
Scholarships for College Students
Scholarships for High School Seniors
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Scholarships for High School Sophomores
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