If you’re in education...
Warning: Do Not Accept A TEACH Grant.
I am fulfilling the requirements of the grant right now but because of a failure in communication between me and fedloan, they converted my grant into a loan. They told me they had emailed me asking me to update my status re: the grant. I did not get that email, because it wasn’t sent to my email.
Yes, a missed email (that was not even sent to my email by Fedloan) was enough to convert an $8,000+ grant into a loan. I came to find out that many other people have had similar issues with TEACH grants being turned into loans even though they were fulfilling all requirements for the grant.
They also tricked me into thinking the problem could be resolved. They told me I needed to sign a paper and have it emailed back to them and it would be taken care of. They lied. I did what they told me to do and nothing happened, other than me expending all my energy to try and fix their mistake.
Fedloan sent me on a wild goose chase to resolve the problem, with the people I communicated with on the phone wondering why it was the people at Fedloan sent me to them. I even contacted my local congressman at the suggestion of others in my position, and they did nothing.
Neither Fedloan nor my worthless Republican Congressman acted in a timely manner to help me resolve the issue. I waited months in between communication on both ends. They would tell me I would receive something by such and such a date. That didn’t happen.
They pushed their ineffectiveness to the point where my new “loan” kicked in and I would have to start making payments on it even though I was fulfilling the requirements of my grant. I was teaching full time in a high needs field and in a high needs district. So, they got what they wanted/needed.
I’m paying them back for it. The grant is designed to fill gaps in our education system, to acquire teachers who can fulfill the needs of districts in high need and in fields that are high need, but if you make a single mistake they’ll convert your grant and if they make a mistake they’ll still convert your grant.
DO NOT ACCEPT A TEACH GRANT.