Tennessee Hope Scholarship

• Be a Tennessee resident as classified by the Tennessee Board of Regents;

• Graduate from an eligible high school in Tennessee;

• Exceptions may be granted to TN residents who graduate from high schools located in states other than Tennessee:

  ° High schools located in bordering out-of-state counties

  ° High schools in which dependents of active duty military members or civilian workers of the US Department of Defense, Tennessee National Guard on active duty may attend

  ° Members of the Armed Forces or TN National Guard must have Tennessee as the Home of Record at the time of entry into military service; or be classified as an in-state student under the Tennessee Board of Regents promulgated rules by the FAFSA application date.

  ° High schools in which dependents of full-time religious workers in foreign nations may attend

  ° Out-of-state boarding schools that are regionally accredited or accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)

• Enroll in one of the Tennessee public colleges, universities, or private colleges: TN Education Lottery Program Eligible Institutions

• Entering freshmen must achieve a minimum:

• 21 ACT or a minimum of 1060 SAT, exclusive of the essay and optional subject area battery tests (concordant equivalent score) OR
• Overall minimum 3.0 grade point average, a grade point average on a 4.0 scale calculated with additional internal quality points awarded for advanced placement, honors or other similar courses according to the Uniform Grading Policy adopted by the State Board of Education.

• Home School graduates – minimum 21 ACT exclusive of the essay and optional subject area battery tests. Home school GPAs are not considered.

• GED ® recipients – minimum 21 ACT exclusive of the essay and optional subject area battery tests and qualifying GED ® score of 170.

• HiSet recipients – minimum 21 ACT exclusive of the essay and optional subject area battery tests and qualifying HiSet score of 15.

• ACT/SAT exams must be taken on a national test date or state test date and prior to the first day of college enrollment. The ACT Residual test is not accepted.

• Must enroll within 16 months following high school graduation at any eligible postsecondary institution.

Benchmark GPA Requirements

• The student must have a minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA at the end of the semester in which the student attempted 24 and 48 semester hours.
• The student must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA at the end of the semester in which the student attempted 72 semester hours and any multiple of 24 semester hours thereafter.
• If the student does not have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA at the end of the semester in which the student attempted 72 semester hours and any multiple of 24 semester hours thereafter, then the student must:
  • Have a minimum 2.75 – 2.99 cumulative GPA and have a semester GPA of at least 3.0 at the end of the semester in which the student attempted 72 semester hours and any multiple of 24 semester hours thereafter. The student’s continued eligibility will be determined on a semester-by-semester basis and must maintain full-time enrollment.

Regain/Repeat Provisions

• If a student ceases to be academically eligible for the HOPE Scholarship, the student may regain the award one-time only. The award may be re-established once the student meets any of the above criteria and maintains continuous enrollment and satisfactory academic progress at an eligible postsecondary institution without the HOPE Scholarship.
• The student must re-apply each year by completing the FAFSA and be continuously enrolled at an eligible postsecondary institution in the fall and spring semesters and maintain satisfactory academic progress.