Tennessee Promise is a scholarship program that lets Tennessee high school, homeschool, and GED graduates attend a community college tuition-free for 5 semesters, not counting summers. It covers tuition and mandatory fees after other aid (Pell, HOPE, TSAA) is applied.
Important: Tennessee Promise does not cover online course fees, book fees, or course/lab fees.
Eligibility
You may qualify if you are a Tennessee resident who:
- Graduates from an eligible Tennessee high school or homeschool, or
- Earns a GED or HiSET diploma before age 19
You must enroll full-time in the fall immediately following high school graduation.
Requirements to Maintain
To stay eligible, you must:
- Be a full-time student (12+ credit hours per semester)
- Maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA
- Complete and submit community service to tnAchieves before the start of each semester
- As a current college student (class of 2024 or earlier), you had two options to complete your community service requirement over the next academic year.
- Option 1: Complete at least 16 hours of community service by July 1, 2025 and complete 16 additional hours by August 1, 2026 (32 total hours of community service).
Or - Option 2: Complete 8 hours by each deadline below
- July 1, 2025
- December 1, 2025
- April 1, 2026
- August 1, 2026
- Option 1: Complete at least 16 hours of community service by July 1, 2025 and complete 16 additional hours by August 1, 2026 (32 total hours of community service).
- As a current college student (class of 2024 or earlier), you had two options to complete your community service requirement over the next academic year.
Current high school senior, your first community service deadline will be August 1, 2026. You will be required to submit at least 16 hours of community service by this deadline.
Tennessee Promise Deadlines
To see the current academic year's deadlines, please visit the TN Promise website.
Update Your TN Promise School Choice
Make sure Vol State is listed as your school of choice:
- Log in to the TSAC Student Portal
- Select Vol State as your Tennessee Promise college
Steps to Success at Vol State
- Apply for Tennessee Promise by the deadline
- Apply for admission to Vol State.
- Complete the FAFSA by the deadline
- Attend your tnAchieves team meeting.
- Complete community service.
- Enroll full-time and maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
Important: Never drop a class without talking to Financial Aid—dropping may affect Tennessee Promise eligibility.
