Educational Award

The Educational Award is probably the trickiest thing about NC-ACTS because there are limitations on its use. The educational award is NOT like a check made out to you.

The AmeriCorps Education Award is a voucher issued to AmeriCorps members upon successful completion of their term of service and must be used within seven years. Education Awards can be used to repay qualified student loans, pay for current cost of attendance at a Title IV institution, and/or to pay expenses incurred while participating in an approved school-to-work opportunities system program.

Remember, the Education Award comes in the form of a voucher; it is NOT CASH!
If you do not plan to continue your education after NC-ACTS, you may have difficulty utilizing your educational award.
However, if you have student loans through the government or you plan to continue your education after finishing NC-ACTS, there is a good chance you will be able to utilize your educational award without any difficulty.

Educational awards are issued up to two months after you are officially exited from the program, so be aware that your educational award is not instantly available to you. For example, you cannot expect to complete your hours at the end of Spring semester and pay for Summer classes with your educational award.
Because there are so many rules and regulations about the educational award, it is impossible to spell everything out in this space.

Dena and Brandon will be happy to discuss your individual situation to determine if and how you may use an educational award.