You've completed your training and learned a lot, and now you're wondering how much the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award is worth. The amount of the award is equivalent to the Pell Grant, and it is subject to federal taxes in the year it is paid out. Currently, members can only participate in AmeriCorps and receive an education award for up to two years, but new rules may allow part-time members to serve for more than two terms. While a person can serve more than two terms, they cannot earn more than the value of two full-time education awards.
The Serve America Act allows members who successfully complete a term of service in state and national AmeriCorps programs to transfer their educational awards, under certain conditions. Individuals can serve up to four terms, but they only receive the education award for successfully completing the first two. Rarely, the education award can affect the process of receiving additional financial aid through the FAFSA. A notification will be sent to your loan holder to verify that you participated in AmeriCorps and earned an educational award.
The Segal AmeriCorps Education Award is an after-service benefit given to those who complete an approved period of national service in AmeriCorps programs. Any amount of the educational grant used and any interest payments made during a tax year may affect your annual income tax liability. There are limits on the number of terms a person can serve in each AmeriCorps program and on the maximum value of educational awards a person can receive. Most federally backed post-secondary loans are eligible to be repaid with an AmeriCorps education award.
A school is eligible to accept the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award if it is a Title IV institution (this includes most colleges, universities, and graduate schools). Anyone who completes a term of service within a 12-month period, in one of the following programs, is entitled to receive an education award: Ford direct loans, consolidated federal loans, supplemental student loans, primary care loans, nursing student loans, health education assistance loans, and loans issued to AmeriCorps members by the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. The Trust can only make interest payments after you have successfully completed a period of service and obtained an educational award. If the program approved by the GI-Bill is offered by a Title IV school, the award may cover current education expenses since it falls under the Title IV school category.