FINANCIAL AID OPPORTUNITIES…

FOR EDUCATION MAJORS

A great deal of financial aid is available for students, and some of it is earmarked for future teachers.  While applying for financial aid, be careful to watch for deadlines and be careful to provide all documentation and recommendations requested.  Below are some of the financial aid opportunities that you can pursue. 

Federal Programs:  1-800-4-FED-AID (Applications also available in the Northeast Financial Aid Office) Loans received through some federal programs, such as the Federal Perkins Loan and Federal Stafford Loan can be forgiven through teaching in low-income areas or in critical shortage fields. Most Northeast Mississippi school districts meet the federal guidelines to be considered low-income schools. For more information on federal student loan forgiveness, click here.

State programs:  (Applications available in Northeast Financial Aid Office or online.) 

            Mississippi funded financial aid for incoming freshmen includes:

            HELP - Higher Education Legislative Plan for Needy Students
            LEAP - Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program
            MESG - Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant
            MTAG - Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Grant

            Mississippi funded financial aid for teacher education includes:

            CNTP - Critical Needs Teacher Loan Scholarship Program  (Repaid by teaching in a shortage area public school district or in a shortage subject area in Mississippi after graduation.)

            WWTS – William Winter Teacher Scholar Loan Program  (Repaid by teaching in any public school district in Mississippi.) You now apply for these loan-scholarships at the same time you apply/reapply for MTAG. There is no longer a separate application. The MTAG application includes a place to indicate you want to apply for the WWTS. You must send proof of passing the PRAXIS I or having acceptable ACT scores (21 with no subscore below 18) to be considered.

            For additional information on state scholarships call State Financial Aid at 1-800-327-2980 or 602-432-6997.  Additional information about state scholarships is also available online at http://www.ihl.state.ms.us/financialaid/default.asp.

Other Scholarship Opportunities: 

• Contact Tony Webster at 601-359-4305 or visit on the web at www.mde.k12.ms.us/scholdev.htm 

• Contact Financial Aid at Northeast Mississippi Community College for information about scholarships and other types of aid. 

• Check for financial aid opportunities at your senior college. 

• Luckyday Scholarships--$3800 per year.  Available to juniors going to University of Mississippi and majoring in Elementary Education, Special Education, or Secondary Education (English, foreign language, math, science, social studies).  Contact Education Department at University of Mississippi  (1-800-OLE-MISS) or Dr. David Rock (662-915-3997)

• Tri State Educational Foundation offers scholarships for area students.  For an application see Christi Webb in Patterson 203 or write Tri State Educational Foundation, P. O. Box 208, Iuka, MS  38852

• For information about scholarship opportunities for minority students go to http://www.nea.org/recruit/minority/financl.html.  Hispanic students can also find scholarship opportunities at http://www.scholarshipsforhispanics.org/  

• At www.fastweb.com/ students can search for scholarships online by filling out an online form.  Be advised that FastWeb does collect and sell information (such as names and e-mail addresses) to fund the site.

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Last Modified:January 11, 2007
The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by Northeast Mississippi Community College