What is TN Promise?

TN Promise is a last-dollar scholarship that provides the opportunity for every Tennessee high school student to earn a postsecondary credential. This also applies to students who complete a GED or HiSET prior to their 19th birthday.

How and when does a student apply for the scholarship?

The deadline to apply for TN Promise for the Class of 2026 high school seniors is November 3, 2025. Applicants may apply online at www.tnpromise.gov.

Who is eligible?

Any high school senior who graduates from an eligible Tennessee high school or completes a Tennessee homeschool program is eligible to apply for TN Promise. Students apply at the beginning of the academic year in which they will graduate and begin working with tnAchieves. To receive TN Promise funds, students must complete the tnAchieves program.

Are GED recipients eligible for TN Promise?

Students who complete a GED or HiSET diploma and have met all other TN Promise eligibility requirements must enroll full-time in an eligible postsecondary program the fall term after they receive their high school diploma, provided that the diploma was earned before they reach 19 years of age.

What if a student wants to enroll early, prior to fall, with TN Promise?

• 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, homeschool program, GED or HiSET curriculum before the spring term of what would have been the 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.
• Complete the following requirements by January 12, 2026:
• Satisfy the TN Promise meeting requirement. Visit TN Promise Meetings for more information on how to complete this requirement.
• File the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You can access both FAFSA applications now at FAFSA.gov.
• Complete and submit 16 hours of community service. You can submit any hours completed August 1, 2024, and later. These hours will cover your early enrollment terms and the 2026-2027 academic year. Visit Community Service for more information on how to complete this requirement.

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, students must meet the requirements outlined above 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 postsecondary institution for the spring term with TN Promise funding, the spring term will count as one of the available five semesters or eight trimesters allowed with the scholarship. Additionally, if you are an early high school graduate and wish to enroll during the spring term, you are required to complete all the requirements outlined above by January 12, 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.

Do non-U.S. citizens qualify for TN Promise?

No. To be eligible, students must be able to complete the FAFSA, qualify for in-state tuition and possess a valid Social Security number. The DACA number is not a valid entry on the Tennessee Promise application. A student must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), for which the student's U.S. citizenship or eligible non-citizenship status has been confirmed by the federal government.

This option is only available for:

1. U.S. citizens;
2. U.S. permanent residents with an I-151, I-551 or I-551C permanent resident card; or
3. Individuals who have an Arrival/Departure Record (I-94) showing one of the following designations: Refugee, Asylum Granted, Cuban-Haitian Entrant (Status Pending), Conditional Entrant, valid only if issued before April 1, 1980, Victims of Human Trafficking (T-2, T-3 or T-4 visa), or Parolee who meets certain conditions.

What does TN Promise fund?

TN Promise is a last-dollar scholarship that funds tuition and mandatory fees at eligible TN Promise postsecondary institutions. These funds cannot be used for books, cost of attendance fees or fees associated with a specific program or class. In order to use the TN Promise scholarship at a four-year college or university, students must enroll in and be accepted into an associate degree program at that school, not a bachelor's degree program.

Students enrolling in a health sciences program will not be eligible to receive TN Promise funding until admitted into the actual program of study.

At a four-year institution, the TN Promise scholarship may not be last-dollar, meaning it may not fully cover all tuition and mandatory fees. The amount of funding you will receive will be based on the average amount of tuition and mandatory fees at a community college, which is estimated to be $4,700 per year. As a last-dollar scholarship, TN Promise will provide whatever amount remains after Pell, HOPE and TSAA funds are applied.

For example, if the average tuition and mandatory fees at a community college were $4,700 per year and you were receiving $4,500 in HOPE funds each year but no other federal or state aid, TN Promise would provide $200 to be applied toward tuition and mandatory fees at one of the eligible four-year institutions.

Does TN Promise pay for books?

TN Promise only funds last-dollar tuition and mandatory fees and does not pay for books or other postsecondary expenses, including application fees, program fees and service fees.

When does TN Promise funding begin?

Students must begin college the fall term immediately following high school graduation. However, students have the option to begin college early with TN Promise funding, provided they meet all necessary requirements. Please reference "What if a student wants to enroll early, prior to fall, with TN Promise?" for more information.

How will the funds be administered?

After students meet all TN Promise requirements, the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) will send the funds to the eligible institution after all Pell, TELS, including HOPE and Wilder-Naifeh, and TSAA funding have been applied.

Students never directly receive funding from TN Promise. TSAC will send funds directly to the college.

Will a student receive a check for the scholarship?

Students never directly receive funding from TN Promise. TSAC will send funds directly to the colleges.

How long after high school will students remain eligible for TN Promise?

If a student continues to meet all requirements, TN Promise funding is available for five consecutive semesters at a community college, eight consecutive trimesters at a TCAT, or until a terminating event, such as graduation or transfer to a non-TN Promise institution, has occurred.

What happens if a student misses a TN Promise deadline?

Failure to meet any TN Promise deadline will result in a student being permanently ineligible for TN Promise.

May a student attend a four-year institution with TN Promise funding?

TN Promise eligible postsecondary institutions offer associate degree programs. In order for a student to receive TN Promise funding at one of these eligible institutions, they must meet all deadlines and be accepted into the associate degree program. At these institutions, funding for TN Promise will not be last-dollar. The scholarship will be determined by the amount a student would receive if they attended a community college.

This amount would be portable to the eligible four-year institution. In other words, if a student's last-dollar amount at a community college is $0 due to a full Pell Grant being awarded, the student would not receive any funding at the eligible four-year institution. If a student receives the HOPE scholarship only, the student would receive approximately $200 each semester from TN Promise at the four-year institution.

Where can students complete their community service?

Visit the community service page for community service opportunities near you, or check your college's service learning page for ideas.

Please remember that you cannot get paid or work for a family member, and you must volunteer with an actual organization, such as a church, school, animal shelter or homeless shelter, to complete your community service requirement.

Who do students contact if they are having trouble with the community service form?

Students experiencing problems submitting the community service form should email concerns to tnachieves@tnachieves.org. Problems with submission do not excuse a student from meeting the established deadline.

How do students submit their community service hours?

Submit your hours using the community service form.

Can a student take a semester off?

A student may request a medical or personal leave of absence from timely enrollment in the initial term, full-time attendance or continuous enrollment at an eligible postsecondary institution as long as all other applicable eligibility criteria are met.

Medical or personal appeals will be considered in the following situations: illness of the student; illness or death of an immediate family member; extreme financial hardship of the student or student's immediate family; fulfillment of a religious commitment expected of members of that faith; fulfillment of required military service; enrollment for a specific TCAT program being unavailable until a later trimester; or other extraordinary circumstances beyond the student's control where attendance by the student creates a substantial hardship.

In order to request a leave of absence after initial enrollment, a student must visit Scholarship, Appeals, and Exceptions for instructions on submitting an appeal.

In order to complete an appeal prior to initial enrollment, a student must contact their college's financial aid office to complete the appeal process as specified by their college. If an institution denies a student's request for a medical or personal leave of absence, the student may appeal the decision in accordance with the rules.

How can students transfer to a four-year program or institution once they have completed their degree or certificate through TN Promise?

The Tennessee Transfer Pathways ensure that students may follow a prescribed curriculum that is transferable, marked by clarity and available for students to review on the first day of enrollment. There are approved transfer pathways that span multiple disciplines and are accepted at all public institutions in Tennessee. More information about participating institutions can be found through TN Transfer Pathway.

Although a student who completes an associate degree is no longer eligible for TN Promise, the student should contact the four-year institution they are interested in to discuss other sources of aid.

Why is it important to update tnAchieves when emails and phone numbers change?

tnAchieves uses the contact information initially provided on the TN Promise application to send important communication related to program requirements. Failure to notify tnAchieves of changes may result in students missing important emails and texts related to upcoming deadlines.

Does TN Promise pay for remedial education?

Yes. TN Promise will cover remedial classes if a student needs to take them. If you score below a 19 on the ACT, you might be interested in our Summer Programs.

When referencing the tnAchieves handbook or website, which class are students associated with?

For the time students are TN Promise scholars, they will be referred to as the class year in which they graduated from high school.

What happens if a student is placed on a wait list at a TCAT?

If a student is unable to begin at a TCAT the fall immediately following high school graduation because the intended TCAT program is full, the student must be reported as on an official wait list by the TCAT in order to remain TN Promise eligible. The student must begin their program as soon as a spot is available. The student must also meet the initial August 1 community service deadline after high school graduation.

Are students required to repay their TN Promise scholarship if they do not finish their program of study?

No, students are not required to repay their TN Promise scholarship. However, we strongly encourage students to finish their program. Before stopping, please reach out to someone on our team so we can help you find a solution that includes finishing your program.