Federal Student Aid Application Deadline Extended For TN Students

Image Credit: TN Dept of Education / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) announced on Thursday, January 20th that they have decided to extend FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) deadlines to Mar 1, 2022.

THEC said that the decision was made to extend the deadlines for the Tennessee Promise Scholarship FAFSA and the priority FAFSA to the Tennessee Student Assistance Award due to “evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent weather events.”

They stated that they believe that due to these circumstances, students may have a difficult time completing their applications in time for the previous deadlines.

The deadline extension is intended to be in effect for new and continuing students.

The Executive Director of THEC and TSAC, Dr. Emily House stated that they “know that many Tennessee students rely on the assistance of high school faculty and college access professionals to complete the FAFSA.”

“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,” House said.

THEC has reported that Tennessee students are lagging behind in completing their FAFSA applications compared to previous years at just 49.5%. 

Past reports showed nearly 76% of Tennessee Promise applicants finished the FAFSA. 

THEC stated that this means families in Tennessee are leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars of free financial aid on the table by not completing the FAFSA.

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