NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Students planning to apply for state financial aid so they can attend higher education have some more time to submit their paperwork this year. The Tennessee Promise program's FAFSA deadline was moved to May 15, 2024, after federal delays with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The U.S. Department of Education usually releases the FAFSA online portal to new applicants in October every year. This year, the release was delayed while the department worked to update the program and its online functionality.
The application is ubiquitous across financial aid programs to determine how much aid individual students are eligible for — including the Tennessee Promise. Other scholarship programs usually require students to submit FAFSA applications, as do many Tennessee colleges. According to a release from the state, an average of around 350,000 Tennesseans complete the FAFSA every year.
The updated FAFSA is expected to be shorter, with the U.S. Department of Education estimating it can be completed in around ten minutes. It also estimated that an additional 610,000 students from low-income families will be eligible for federal Pell Grants.
To complete the FAFSA, students should log onto its online portal and answer questions in the application. Calculations for the 2024-2025 FAFSA form will be based on tax filings from 2022, according to a release from the state.
Students are able to share FAFSA information with up to 20 colleges and trade schools. The state said due to delays with the FAFSA, communications from colleges may not be available until February at the earliest.
The Tennessee Promise is a state program that covers the cost of tuition and fees not covered by other financial aid for students applying to some schools, while also connecting students to mentors to help them transition from high school and into college.