About Financial Aid

Learn strategies for financing your education, from finding scholarships to exploring loan forgiveness.

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Cost-Saving Strategies

There are many opportunities to reduce or eliminate your preparation expenses.

  • Apply for scholarships and financial aid

    There are several scholarship opportunities for aspiring teachers in Connecticut. For example, the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship offers up to $5,250 if you’re in the top 20 percent of your high school class and/or scored above specific SAT/ACT thresholds. Whether you’re in high school, college or graduate school, there are many opportunities that you may be eligible for. See a list of featured scholarships in Connecticut.

  • Explore loan forgiveness programs

    If you teach in high-need schools or subjects like math, science, bilingual education or special education, the federal government and many states have created programs to forgive some or all of your student loans. For starters, check out Connecticut Student Loan Forgiveness Programs and the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program.

    The Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority's Alliance District Teacher Loan Subsidy Program will also reduce loan interest for qualifying teachers who commit to working in one of Connecticut's 33 highest need school districts. Through this program, you can refinance up to $25,000 in private student loans and receive a 3% interest rate subsidy.

  • Start your undergraduate degree at a community college

    Have you considered starting your undergraduate studies at a community college? Community colleges offer transfer programs to larger universities, so you can start training at the community college and finish your degree at a larger university.

  • Earn a salary while completing your coursework

    If you have a bachelor’s degree, but haven’t completed an educator preparation program, some post-baccalaureate programs allow you to take coursework while you are teaching and/or working in the classroom.

  • Reduce your application costs

    TEACH Connecticut will reimburse up to $100 of your application expenses when you apply to a teaching program. That includes required costs like application fees, test registration fees, transcript fees and more! Get the details at our Fee Reimbursements page.

Not sure where to begin? Get personalized advice.

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If you want help finding scholarships and financial aid, schedule a free 1-on-1 coaching call.

When you sign up, you'll get access to a checklist app that keeps track of application deadlines, how-to guides and fee rebates of up to $100.

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Key vocabulary

All this money talk can get confusing. Here are some key terms to help you get started.

To be considered for a scholarship, loan forgiveness or other opportunity, you must proceed with the application process, which usually includes an application composed of a form or collection of forms.

Additional materials, like recommendation letters, school transcripts and other documents that determine your eligibility, may also be required.

Eligibility is the basic criteria you must meet in order to be able to apply for an opportunity such as a scholarship, grant, internship or loan forgiveness program.

Financial aid from the federal and/or state government to help you pay for education expenses at an eligible college or career school. For example, Pell Grants are a common federal grant. (Good news! Grants do not have to be paid back.)

A loan is a sum of money that can be used to help finance the cost of your education and is expected to be paid back with interest after you graduate.

If loans are needed to pay for college, many students first take loans from the federal government because they tend to have more favorable rates, and then take private loans from a bank if they have maxed out on federal loans and still need additional funds.

If a student commits to teaching for a set period of time, oftentimes in a certain geography, subject or grade level, they can avoid having to pay some or all of their loans.

Because they can be for substantial amounts, loan forgiveness is among the highest quality/value financing opportunities for handling the cost of education. However, each program varies, so it is critical that candidates understand the specific requirements for the type of loans and amounts that can be forgiven, as well as the teaching commitment they must fulfill.

A scholarship is a direct payment made to the student or the institution that student is attending. It is a set amount of funds awarded on the basis of academic or other achievement or financial need, along with demonstrated success and interest in specific areas defined by the scholarship. Scholarships do not need to be repaid.

A subsidy is financial aid from the government. Subsidies generally support programs or work that benefit the public interest—like teaching!

A subsidy often reduces a certain cost (such as loan interest rates), but won't cover all of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

TEACH Connecticut currently only provides support and information for opportunities specific to those seeking teaching opportunities in Connecticut. The CSDE provides a guide, Obtaining Connecticut Educator Certification, for applicants who reside outside the U.S. or have teaching experience from other states and who wish to teach in Connecticut.

If you have been awarded a scholarship or grant, depending on the terms of that award, you may receive it directly or it may be directly distributed to the institution that you are attending to offset tuition costs. Other opportunities, such as loan forgiveness, may be distributed in other ways like directly reflected in the remaining balance of your loans. Each method of distribution is unique to the opportunity and you will find additional details for each specific process on the information page or original website for each opportunity itself.

Most scholarship, grant, and internship opportunities have specific deadlines that are available on their information page and website. Usually these pages also provide instructions to aid you in the application process.

Yes, check out Explore Financial Aid to see financial aid opportunities in Connecticut. You can use our national database to browse other options, as well.

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