TENNESSEE FAFSA CHALLENGE

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) hosts the TN FAFSA Challenge in order to honor schools and personnel who are doing the work of FAFSA completion. We also hope to increase the FAFSA completion rate among students in Tennessee. Students who complete the FAFSA are more likely to enroll in higher education, persist in their college coursework, and obtain a degree. While many schools will have higher FAFSA completion rates by the time students graduate, additional state funding, institutional dollars, and private scholarships may be available if the FAFSA is completed earlier in their senior year of high school. High schools will be recognized at the end of FAFSA season as leaders in FAFSA completion–both overall and year to year. Schools are able to track their progress using the data visualizations on the TN FAFSA Frenzy page of CollegeForTN.

Categories

FAFSA Champions

There are two ways a high school can earn FAFSA Champion status:

(1) Increase their Tennessee Promise applicant FAFSA completion rate by 5 percentage points or more compared to the previous academic year as of the Tennessee Promise FAFSA deadline

(2) Have 90% or more of their Tennessee Promise applicants complete the FAFSA as of the Tennessee Promise FAFSA deadline

Click Here to See the 2024-2025 FAFSA Champions

Highest Completion

Awarded to schools with the highest overall Tennessee Promise applicant FAFSA completion rate as of the Tennessee Promise FAFSA deadline:

Large School – More than 300 seniors
Warren County High School (95.3%)

Medium School:  126 – 300 seniors
Claiborne High School, Claiborne County (100%)
Meigs County High School, Meigs County (100%)

Small School:  51 – 125 seniors
Houston County High School, Houston County (100%)
Jellico High School, Campbell County (100%)
Merrol Hyde Magnet School, Sumner County (100%)
Perry County High School, Perry County (100%)
Wayne County High School, Wayne County (100%)

Very Small School:  1 – 50 seniors
Big Sandy School, Benton County (100%)
Frank Hughes School, Wayne County (100%)
Hampshire Unit School, Maury County (100%)
Lookout Valley Middle/High School, Hamilton County (100%)
Santa Fe Unit School, Maury County (100%)

Most Improved

Awarded to schools with the most improved Tennessee Promise applicant FAFSA completion rate compared to the previous year as of the Tennessee Promise FAFSA deadline:

Large School – More than 300 seniors
Hunters Lane High School, Davidson County (+12.1%)

Medium School:  126 – 300 seniors
Stratford STEM Magnet School, Davidson County (+22.5%)

Small School:  51 – 125 seniors
Hillcrest High School, Shelby County (+26.8%)

Very Small School:  1 – 50 seniors
Lookout Valley Middle/High School, Hamilton County (+25.5%)

High School Recognition

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission will recognize schools for outstanding achievement in the categories listed above. Recognition will come in a variety of ways:

Banners

Designated schools will receive wall clings to display proudly in school hallways.

media

Designated schools will be recognized on CollegeForTN, through press releases, on social media, and in College Access and Success Newsletters.

Trophies

Trophies will be sent to designated schools in the Most Improved and Highest  Completion categories.

FAFSA Resources

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission has created and curated a number of resources for students and schools to support TN FAFSA Frenzy efforts. Student resources include step-by-step FAFSA-filing instructions and videos. School resources include resources and guides focused on helping high schools strengthen their TN FAFSA Frenzy efforts. 

RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS
RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS