HOPE Scholarship Guide for Non-traditional Students
Do you think you qualify? Please read the criteria for eligibility from the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation listed below. If after reading the criteria, you feel you meet the requirements, please email the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) office or call 901-333-4262.
Tennessee HOPE Scholarship – Non-traditional Component
The non-traditional student must be a Tennessee resident, complete the Federal Application for Financial Aid (FAFSA) and be enrolled at an eligible post-secondary institution. In addition, the student must:
- Be age 25 or older, as an entering freshman in an eligible post-secondary institution or have not been enrolled for at least two (2) years after last attending any post-secondary institution
- Must have parents' or independent student's and spouse's adjusted gross income of $36,000 or less on IRS tax form
- Be continuously enrolled at an eligible post-secondary institution in the fall and spring semesters and maintain satisfactory academic progress
- Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 after 12 and 24 attempted semester hours
- To continue receiving the HOPE Scholarship, the non-traditional student shall meet the HOPE Scholarship Renewal Criteria mentioned above
The non-traditional student shall continue receiving the HOPE Scholarship until the
first of the following
terminating events:
- The student has earned a baccalaureate degree
- If the student previously received a HOPE Scholarship, the sum of the number of years the non-traditional student received the non-traditional HOPE Scholarship and the HOPE Scholarship from previous years equals five (5) years
- Five (5) years have passed since the student enrolled in an eligible post-secondary institution as a non-traditional student
A non-traditional student shall not be eligible for the Aspire Award or the General Assembly Merit Award.
For more information email the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) office or call 901-333-4262.
