Points
Guidelines & Resources
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One Undergraduate Degree or Equivalent: TGP can only be used for 8 semesters or 12 quarters of undergraduate course work. You and your child should be sure to use TGP for the maximum benefit. We track TGP usage limits using Points.
Each term (semester or quarter) is assigned a TGP point value as shown below. The maximum number of points allowable per child is 12, regardless of academic periods needed by your child to complete the degree.
| TYPE OF TERM | MAXIMUM TERMS | POINTS PER TERM | MAXIMUM POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semester | 8 | 1.5 | 12 |
| Quarter | 12 | 1 | 12 |
Use Your 12 Points Wisely! Be very careful about how your child uses up their TGP Points. Here are some example scenarios to watch out for in maximizing usage of your TGP benefit.
Part-time Attendance: If your eligible child takes eight or fewer units during any term, TGP will pay up to half of the maximum annual benefit, and half an eligibility point will be deducted.
Summer Term: It may be very inadvisable to use TGP for a summer term, for three reasons:
- Using TGP money for a summer term can cause you to run out of TGP money in your child’s senior year.
- The TGP annual maximum benefit is a fixed amount of money. Adding a summer term does not get you any more TGP money for the year.
- Often students take less than a full course load during a summer term. Full-time attendance (9 or more units) will utilize a full point, and part-time attendance (8 or less units) will use half a point. Consider not applying to use TGP for the summer term so you can save that point to use on a full-time school term so that you get the maximum dollar value for your points.
Community College vs. Four-Year College: A term/point is used no matter the cost of tuition. So if your child plans on transferring to a four-year college from a community college to complete their degree, which can be an additional 2-3 years due to availability of classes or changing majors, carefully consider saving TGP for the school with the higher tuition.
- For example, whether we pay $800 at a community college or $14,000 at a 4-year college, the same TGP point is utilized.
If your child cannot be claimed as a dependent on your taxes, please read about the effect on point usage here.
Attendance Tips
- Students who are claimed as dependents may have breaks in attendance without repercussions.