What The American Recovery and Re-Investment Act can do for your College Education According to Ed.Gov "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides approximately $100 billion for education, creating a historic opportunity to save hundreds of thousands of jobs, support states and school districts, and advance reforms and improvements that will create long-lasting results for our students and our nation including early learning, K-12, and post-secondary education. This document describes the principles and strategy that will guide the distribution and implementation of the ARRA funds appropriated to the U.S. Department of Education."
Listed below are the many ways to get free money for your education. Speak with a counselor at one of our schools to find out more and if you qualify.
Pell Grants
The stimulus act increases funding for Pell Grants, which go to students from low- and moderate-income families, generally those making less than $40,000 a year. These grants do not have to be repaid and can be used for tuition and living expenses. Grants range from $400 to $4,731, The stimulus bill adds $500 to the maximum for 2009-10 only. Including a previously scheduled increase, that brings the year’s maximum to $5,350.
Finaid.com is forcasting that the stimulus bill will increase the number of Pell Grant recipients by about 800,000.
Money would go into the program every year automatically, according to a formula, instead of being partially dependent on annual appropriations from Congress. The maximum Pell Grant would start at $5,500 in 2011
Tax Credit Revamp
The stimulus act replaces the Hope Scholarship with the more generous American Opportunity Tax Credit. The American Opportunity tax credit can be claimed in years one through four of college. The maximum is $2,500 per year. The income phaseout range rises to $80,000 to $90,000 for singles and $160,000 to $180,000 for couples. And it’s partially refundable: You can claim up to $1,000 even if you don’t pay federal income tax. It can also be claimed against textbook expenses.
The Lifetime Learning Credit and tuition and fees deduction can be used for any year of college, including grad school.
Work study
The stimulus act adds $200 million for federal work study, enough for an additional 181,000 recipients
529s and computers
The stimulus act also allows tax-free withdrawals from 529 college savings plans to buy a student a computer.
Student loans
The stimulus act doesn’t change student loans. But Obama’s budget would end the Federal Family Education Loan Program.
This program provides federal subsidies to private-sector lenders who make government-guaranteed Stafford and Plus loans to students and their parents. The U.S. Department of Education, which provides these same loans at many colleges through its direct lending program, would take the place of the private-sector program.
