NEWS

20K+ plan to use TN Promise at community, tech colleges

Adam Tamburin
atamburin@tennessean.com

More than 20,000 Tennessee Promise students plan to use the scholarship to attend a community or technical college in the fall, according to data released Friday.

The data, which were pulled from the students' applications for federal financial aid, paint the clearest picture yet of the scholarship program's potential impact during its first year.

More than 58,000 high school seniors initially applied for the last-dollar scholarship that covers tuition at Tennessee's community and technical colleges. More than 31,500 of those students have filed the Free Applications for Federal Student Aid and are still eligible for Tennessee Promise.

Officials analyzed that FAFSA information and found more than 9,400 of the eligible students named a four-year university as their first choice for higher education, signaling that they were keeping Tennessee Promise as a Plan B.

More than 1,100 students said they planned to attend Middle Tennessee State University in the fall. About 900 wanted to enroll at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. More than 50 named Vanderbilt University as their top choice.

In comparison more than 17,800 said they would go to one of the state's 13 community colleges.

Those numbers are based on information from 84 of Tennessee's 95 counties. Eleven counties in rural West Tennessee are not included in the latest round of data.

Officials expected most of the Tennessee Promise applicants to leave the program eventually for other options. Mike Krause, executive director of Tennessee Promise, said the latest round of numbers is "incredibly supportive of our current projections."

"There's nothing but good news in here," Krause said. "I love that there are Tennessee Promise students who have kept us as an option, but they're headed to Vanderbilt.

"My hope is that the Tennessee Promise process, whether it brings access to college success information or exposure to financial aid resources, results in them being more successful wherever they may ultimately attend."

The true number of Tennessee Promise students won't be clear until those students arrive on college campuses in the fall. To maintain eligibility, students will have to complete eight hours of community service and finalize their FAFSAs by August.

Krause said he expects around 18,000 students to stick with the program through the fall.

In Tennessee Promise's second year, Krause hopes to encourage more students to consider one of the state's technical colleges, which boast job placement rates of more than 80 percent. About 2,700 eligible students are planning to attend a technical college in the fall, according to the FAFSA data.

Krause said he believes the total price of the program's first year won't exceed the original $14 million estimate, although it is too soon to say exactly how much Tennessee Promise will cost the state. Promise funds will only pay the cost of tuition that is left over after federal and state aid has been applied, and those numbers have not been finalized.

Preliminary reports from the federal government indicate that existing aid will cover the full cost of community or technical college tuition for more than half of the Tennessee Promise students who filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintweets.

Promise students' school picks

• Pellissippi State Community College (Knoxville): 2,164 students

• Volunteer State Community College (Sumner County): 1,909 students

• Southwest Tennessee Community College (Memphis): 1,818 students

• Motlow State Community College (Tullahoma, with a satellite campus in Smyrna): 1,812 students

• Nashville State Community College: 1,442 students

*Includes FAFSA data from 84 of 95 counties