• All students have the option to enroll as early as the summer term at a TN Promise eligible institution.

• If you are an early high school graduate, you can begin college as early as the spring/winter term at a TN Promise eligible institution.

• An early high school graduate is defined as any student who graduates from an eligible high school, home school program, GED or HiSET curriculum before the spring term of what would have been a student’s senior year of high school. 

Requirements for TN Promise Early College Enrollment:

• Complete the 2026 TN Promise application at www.TNPromise.gov by November 3, 2025.

• Satisfy the Mandatory TN Promise Meeting requirement by March 16, 2026.

• As an early graduate, students will receive a mandatory webinar via email after the TN Promise application closes on November 3, 2025. The Mandatory TN Promise Meeting requirement can be fulfilled by viewing this webinar, but we ask that students also attend the in-person meeting at their former high school (if possible). The mandatory meeting schedule will be available soon!

• Complete and submit TWO separate Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applications by April 1, 2026.

• Complete the 2025-2026 FAFSA AND the 2026-2027 FAFSA by April 1, 2026 at FAFSA.gov.

Please note, early enrollment is completely optional! Students are not required to enroll prior to the fall 2026 term. To qualify for early college enrollment, you must meet the requirements outlined below by the given deadlines. Please connect with your college of choice for more information regarding early enrollment!

If a student chooses to enroll at a post-secondary institution for the spring term with TN Promise funding, the spring term will count as one of the available 5 semesters/8 trimesters allowed with the scholarship. Additionally, if you are an early high school graduate and you wish to enroll during the spring term, you are required to complete all the requirements outlined above by January 5, 2026 for your TN Promise award to be applied to your financial aid account prior to when payments are due. If you fail to complete your early enrollment requirements by this date, you may be required to pay out of pocket and be reimbursed after all requirements have been met. Please note, you MUST complete all requirements by the mandatory deadlines outlined above to receive TN Promise funding for the spring and/or summer term.