Generally awarded based on financial need and require no repayment as long as you attend your courses.

The gives students an opportunity to gain valuable work experience while attending college or a career school. Unlike a federal student loan, you don’t have to pay this money back!

A is money borrowed from the federal government to help pay for your education, that must be repaid with interest.

provides Tennessee high school graduates the opportunity to attend a community or technical college free of tuition and mandatory fees.  Tennessee Promise is both a scholarship and mentoring program.

The is available to students who are classified as independent on the FAFSA OR at least 23 years of age by January 1 of the academic year who have not previously earned an associate degree or more advanced degree and are enrolled in an eligible program of study. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs administers a variety of education benefit programs. Many Veterans and active duty personnel can qualify for more than one education benefits program.
Learn More

are gifts. They don’t need to be repaid. There are thousands of them, offered by schools, employers, individuals, private companies, nonprofits, communities, religious groups, and professional and social organizations.

Apply for the Pellissippi State Foundation Scholarship at /financialaid/scholarships

WIOA is landmark legislation that is designed to strengthen and improve our nation’s public workforce system and help get Americans, including youth and those with significant barriers to employment, into high-quality jobs and careers and help employers hire and retain skilled workers.

offers employment-focused rehabilitation services for individuals with disabilities consistent with their strengths, priorities, and resources.

Students must apply for the Tennessee Promise scholarship during their senior year of high school. Seniors create an account on the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) portal, available at , and complete their application by November 1 of their senior year of high school.  
 
Students should check their TSAC student portal frequently for updates and to ensure your Tennessee Promise funding goes to the correct institution. 

Fill out your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (also called the FAFSA) at each year.

Tennessee Promise students have a mandatory deadline to complete the FAFSA by each year. If you miss the FAFSA completion deadline, you will not qualify for Tennessee Promise.

The FAFSA helps determine if you qualify for federal and state financial aid, scholarships and grants. Remember, some funds tied to the FAFSA are first-come, first-served. For that reason, it’s best to fill out the FAFSA as early as possible. The FAFSA opens each year in October in advance of the fall semester you’d likely attend college — for example, if you were entering college in fall 2024, you’d fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible following October 1, 2023.

Our financial aid experts can help you answer questions about the FAFSA, and the U.S. Department of Education answers many common questions online. We also have a FAFSA Checklist (PDF) to help you through the process.

What happens if I’m selected for FAFSA verification?

The Department of Education selects some students for verification. This simply means that we at Pellissippi State must verify the information you provided on the FAFSA before we can issue your financial aid.

If you’re selected for verification, we’ll alert you in under the “Financial Aid” tab. It’s incredibly important that you submit or complete any documents we ask you for as soon as you can. Delays in completing the verification process may mean delays in your financial aid offer.

The most common requirements during a verification are to clarify or verify your citizenship, marital status, income status, dependent status, child support status or degree status. Often, verification requires a tax or wage transcript, which you can request from the IRS.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs administers several benefit programs, listed below. We can help you answer any questions you have about VA benefits. Contact our VA Certifying Official Kelsy Fritts, or call 865.539.7368. 

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at . 

Remember, VA benefits are tied to attendance and satisfactory academic progress. 

Attendance and Academic Progress 

Regular attendance and satisfactory academic progress are required to receive veterans benefit pay, so we are required to report your non-attendance and your current academic progress. The VA may adjust, cancel or discontinue payments if your attendance is not regular or if you do not make satisfactory academic progress. 

Dropping, Adding or Withdrawing from a Class 

It’s also important to remember that you can’t drop or add a course without approval from Pellissippi State’s VA Certifying Official. Additionally, the VA will not pay education benefits if you withdraw from a class. 

Additional information and aid for veterans is available from Veterans Services. 

When you file your FAFSA, you need to make sure you select the Tennessee Promise eligible institution you plan to attend as your first choice. You need to update the first college listed in two places: on the FAFSA and in the TSAC Student Portal. Be sure that you have updated your first choice in the TSAC Student Portal by July 15 of the year you will start college. Tennessee Achieves has full instructions for changing your institution in the FAFSA and the TSAC Student Portal in your Tennessee Promise Student Handbook, which is available as a PDF download on their site. 

Pellissippi State has dozens and dozens of private scholarships for students of all types. Fill out our scholarship application, and we will match you to any scholarship for which you qualify. There are no guarantees that a scholarship fits you, but it’s a great idea to apply. If we can help you pay for college, we will.

Find out more about the Pellissippi State Foundation Scholarships.

Once you’ve completed your applications for financial aid, we’ll contact you through myPellissippi about your financial aid awards, any requirements you must meet and upcoming deadlines. Don’t forget to check frequently for updates.  

Our last reminder to you is to remember that there are financial aid consequences for withdrawing from a class (or from simply deciding to no longer attend). Depending upon the financial aid you use, there may also be financial aid consequences for the number of classes you take or for your GPA. If you have questions, ask us. 

Tennessee Promise students are required to enroll and attend full-time (at least 12 credit hours). If you withdraw from or stop attending class and drop below 12 credit hours, you will lose Tennessee Promise. Other financial aid could also be affected if you withdraw or stop attending. Always talk to Financial Aid before you withdraw from or stop attending class. 

Once previous steps are completed — including registering for classes — all students must confirm their schedule and pay tuition and fees. After any financial aid award you receive appears on the confirmation screen in myPellissippi, you must confirm your schedule and pay any remaining tuition and fees. If your financial aid covers the cost of tuition and fees, you still must confirm your schedule. Students who do not confirm their schedules run the risk of having their schedules deleted.   

If you were selected for FAFSA verification and are not able to complete verification by the Schedule Confirmation and Fee Deadline, you will need to set up a payment arrangement with Student Account Services or risk being dropped from class. 

Tennessee Promise students are required to complete community service for each semester they attend college. If you do not complete and submit community service hours to tnachieves.org by the deadline, you will lose Tennessee Promise. 

Tennessee Promise students must maintain a full-time enrollment (at least 12 credit hours) and a 2.0 GPA. If you withdraw from class, or simply stop attending class, and drop below 12 credit hours, you will lose Tennessee Promise. Any other financial aid you may receive could also be affected.  

If your enrollment drops below full-time, or if you have an official or unofficial withdrawal date due to a documented personal hardship or medical reason, you may submit an appeal to keep Tennessee Promise to the Institutional Review Panel. A dependent or independent student whose appeal is based on financial reasons must provide all supporting documentation attributable to the student. A student cannot appeal for missing the GPA requirement. To appeal, students must submit an appeal form in myPellissippi and provide professional documentation that supports their appeal. If documentation is not provided, your appeal will be denied. 

The , administered by the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation, is a scholarship funded through the Tennessee Education Lottery. Only high-school juniors and seniors are eligible for the grant, and those students must meet certain eligibility requirements. 

Complete the before the beginning of the academic semester in which you wish to enroll in classes at Pellissippi State. 

The grant may pay the full cost of tuition for your first two three-credit-hour classes, up to $500 per course. You can use the grant for up to two courses per semester, up to $1,200 per academic year. 

The TSAC Dual Enrollment Grant funds may help with the costs of Dual Enrollment classes taken during your junior and senior years of high school. For specific details and requirements about the TSAC Dual Enrollment Grant, visit the site. 

As a Dual Enrollment student, you’ll need to pay attention to Pellissippi State deadlines and TSAC deadlines. 

Once you begin college, you must maintain a 2.75 college GPA to remain eligible for the TSAC Dual Enrollment Grant. 

Once all of previous steps are completed — including registering for classes — the college will credit Dual Enrollment students’ accounts after registration. Dual Enrollment students must pay any remaining balance not covered by the grant by the Schedule Confirmation and Fee Deadline. Students may set up a payment arrangement with Student Account Services if needed. If you do not pay fees or set up a payment arrangement by the Schedule Confirmation and Fee Deadline, your schedule will be dropped. 

If you are a student who wishes to take classes at Pellissippi State — but who does not wish to earn a degree from us or from another institution — you are a non-degree student. You may be auditing classes, or simply taking credit classes for personal enrichment. Audited classes and non-degree classes cost the same in tuition as classes taken for college credit. 

Non-degree students don’t qualify for financial aid, but may have unique advising requirements.

Certificate students are those who wish to earn a standalone certificate, not a certificate that is embedded in an associate degree program. There are some certificate programs that qualify for federal aid.

If you are enrolled at another higher education institution and are taking a credit class at Pellissippi State, or if you are taking classes but are not enrolling in a degree or certificate program, you are a visiting student. The financial aid package for which you are eligible at Pellissippi State is determined by your home university or college through consortium agreements. 

Consortium Agreements 

If you are taking a credit class (or two) at Pellissippi State while you are simultaneously enrolled at another college or university — for the purpose of having the credit hours from Pellissippi State transferred back to your home university — you may qualify for a special financial aid arrangement. 

A consortium agreement is a contract between two colleges or universities that recognizes the registration of a student at each institution for financial aid and credit transfer purposes. What this means, in short, is that only one of the two colleges or universities will administer Title IV financial aid for you. The institution that administers your financial aid for tuition and fees is your “home school” — the school where you are fully admitted or where you will earn your degree. In this case, Pellissippi State is your “host school” — the school where you are taking classes with the intent of transferring them back to your home school. 

As your host school, Pellissippi State does not and cannot provide financial aid for your tuition and fees. However, your home school may have a consortium agreement with Pellissippi State that will cover your tuition and fees while you’re here. Any such arrangement is decided by your home school. If you want more details, contact the financial aid office at your home school.