Tennessee Promise is a scholarship and mentorship program. This Scholarship is always considered a last-dollar scholarship, however, when used at a four-year university, it does not pay the last dollar.

Tennessee Promise Scholarship

Only the average state community college tuition and required fees not covered by financial aid from the Pell, TELS (including the hope scholarship, Access Grant, Aspire Scholarship, etc.), or TSAA programs are covered by the scholarship.

About Tennessee Promise Scholarship

The Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC), was established as a nonprofit corporation by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1974 as a result of the merger of the Tennessee Educational Loan Corporation.

The Tennessee Tuition Grant Program is responsible for overseeing over 20 different state-sponsored student financial aid programs, including the Tennessee hope scholarship, Tennessee Promise, Tennessee Reconnect, Tennessee Student Assistance Award, and the Dual Enrollment grant.

The organization offers financial aid outreach and training to students and employees at every high school and postsecondary institution in the state in order to raise knowledge of and participation in the financial aid programs.

To enhance program effectiveness, compliance, and efficiency, staff additionally work with postsecondary financial aid offices.

Scholarship Eligibility Criteria

1. Tennessee residents/U.S. citizens/eligible non-citizens/students who graduate from an eligible high school, homeschool, or earn a GED/HISET (prior to 19th birthday) can receive an award at an eligible postsecondary institution toward tuition and mandatory fees after all other gift aid has been first applied.

2. Students must attend mandatory meetings and participate in a mentoring program.

3. College students must attend full-time, continue to participate in the mentoring program, and perform 8 hours of community service prior to each term the award is received.

For a list of eligible institutions, click here

Student Requirements

To receive Tennessee Promise, a student must:

1. Participate and meet all requirements of a Tennessee Promise partnering organization.

2. Apply senior year and meet established application deadlines.

3. Attend all scheduled team meetings and mandatory college orientation.

4. Begin at the postsecondary institution in the fall directly following high school graduation and remain at an eligible institution for consecutive semesters. (A student may begin at his/her postsecondary institution in the spring or summer directly following high school graduation; however, the student will be responsible for incurred tuition and fees until fall.)

5. Maintain at least 12 hours each semester.

6. Attend a postsecondary institution for consecutive semesters. (If a student withdraws from all classes during the semester, he/she will no longer be eligible.)

7. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by February 1st of each year beginning in high school and throughout his/her postsecondary experience

8. Maintain satisfactory academic progress. At most institutions, this is the equivalent of maintaining a 2.0 GPA each semester.

9. Complete at least eight hours of community service each semester.

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Application Process

Students will be required to complete the Tennessee Promise Scholarship application in the TSAC Student Portal by November 1 and the FAFSA by March 1 at www.fafsa.gov.

Please Note Below:

Applying for a scholarship is not complete once a student portal account has been created.

Next, you must re-enter your Username and Password and answer the challenge question.  Once you have accepted the “User Agreement”, click the “Apply for Scholarships” button and then click the appropriate scholarship program to complete and submit the online application.

For future student portal access to apply online or to view your financial aid summary, it is important to remember the Username and Password you have created.

Apply Here

How to Renew this Scholarship

Once in the program, students must do the following to retain their scholarship:

Maintain continuous enrollment and excellent academic progress if attending a Tennessee College of Applied Technology, or maintain full-time enrollment and involvement if attending a community college or in a qualifying program at a participating four-year school.

Eight (8) hours of community service every term enrolled must be completed and submitted by the timeframes specified in the rule and by the collaborating organization.

Every year the student participates in the program, they must submit the FAFSA before the deadline.

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