NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) has decided to extend the Tennessee Promise Scholarship FAFSA deadline and the priority FAFSA deadline to March 1, 2022.
This deadline extension will be in effect for new and continuing students.
The THEC will continue to work closely with Tennessee high schools, higher education institutions, and Tennessee Promise partnering organizations to support students in completing the FAFSA.
"We know that many Tennessee students rely on the assistance of high school faculty and college access professionals to complete the FAFSA,” said Dr. Emily House, executive director of THEC and TSAC. “With recent school closures due to weather and illness, we are moving the Tennessee Promise FAFSA deadline to March 1 to ensure Tennessee students have the support they need to complete the FAFSA, access financial aid, and ultimately, enroll in postsecondary education.”
Tennessee students are currently lagging behind the FAFSA completion rate from previous years, at just 49.5%. In 2021, nearly 76% of Tennessee Promise applicants finished the FAFSA.
Filing a FAFSA is the first step students must take to apply for most state and federal financial aid for college. To assist in navigating the FAFSA process, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation have curated a number of resources for students and schools to support Tennessee’s FAFSA completion efforts. Student resources include step-by-step FAFSA-filing instructions and videos. School resources include guides focused on helping high schools strengthen their FAFSA completion numbers.