Declining partial unsubsidized loan after accepting TEACH Grant - when can we decide?

You can absolutely accept partial loan amounts! When your daughter accepts her aid package through her school's financial aid portal, there should be options to "Accept" or "Decline" each award individually. Many schools also have a third option to "Accept partial amount" where you can enter the specific dollar amount you want to borrow. If the portal doesn't offer that option, just email or call the financial aid office directly BEFORE accepting anything. They can adjust the loan amount for you. Just make sure you've completely thought through your budget before declining any loan funds. It's usually much harder to request additional loan money later in the semester if you realize you need it than it is to decline it now.

we took the TEACH grant 4 my son last yr & regret it BIG TIME!!!! those service requirements r NO JOKE & if u miss ANYTHING it converts 2 a loan with retroactive interest!!! think twice!!

I work in a university financial aid office. For most schools, here's the exact process: 1. Accept the TEACH Grant in your portal first 2. There will be separate entries for each loan type (subsidized and unsubsidized) 3. For the unsubsidized loan, most school portals have a "partial accept" option where you enter the exact dollar amount 4. If your school's portal doesn't allow partial acceptance, call the financial aid office and request a "loan adjustment form" Important: Make sure your daughter completes the TEACH Grant counseling and agreement to serve on studentaid.gov BEFORE your school's aid acceptance deadline. The school cannot disburse the TEACH Grant without these completed documents.

lol teach grant is such a scam... govt tricks education majors into taking it then makes the requirements impossible to meet so they can charge u interest later

Just wanted to chime in that when my son accepted his TEACH Grant last year, we had a lot of trouble reaching someone at Federal Student Aid to answer specific questions about how certain schools qualify as low-income. I kept getting disconnected or waiting hours on the phone. I finally used Claimyr.com which got me through to an actual FSA agent in about 10 minutes. They have a video demo of how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent was able to walk me through everything including how to verify if particular schools would qualify for the service requirement. Definitely worth it if you have specific questions about the TEACH Grant requirements.

I teach at a Title I school and received the TEACH Grant during my education. One important thing to remember is that your daughter needs to complete the Agreement to Serve (ATS) each year she receives the grant. The unsubsidized loan can be adjusted as others have mentioned, but don't skip the ATS or annual certification after graduation. Also, the definition of "high-need field" can change, so she should verify her specific subject (Special Education) is still considered high-need each year. Currently it is, but these designations can shift based on Department of Education assessments.

wait im confused - you say you researched the TEACH grant but did u also research subsidized vs unsubsidized loans?? unsubsidized starts accruing interest immediately while ur kid is still in school! if ur declining any loans definitely decline the unsubsidized first and keep any subsidized loans they offered!!

As a follow-up to my earlier comment, one other important timing consideration: if you're reducing the unsubsidized loan amount, make sure you do this BEFORE the first disbursement date (usually right before classes start). Some schools have internal deadlines even earlier than this. After disbursement occurs, the process becomes more complicated - you'd need to request a "return of loan funds" which can sometimes affect your daughter's account balance immediately even if you're planning to pay that amount through other means.

Just wanted to add one more thing about the TEACH Grant - make sure your daughter understands that if she ever changes her major away from Special Education, the grant will immediately convert to an unsubsidized loan with interest calculated from the original disbursement date. I've seen this happen to students who switched majors in their junior year and were shocked by the sudden loan conversion. Also, regarding the partial loan acceptance, most schools allow you to reduce loan amounts up until about 2 weeks before the semester starts, but you typically can't increase them later without going through a lengthy appeal process. So if you're on the fence about how much you'll need, it might be safer to accept a bit more initially and then return any unused funds after the semester begins.