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HOPE (Lottery) Scholarship

The HOPE (Lottery) Scholarship is only available to Tennessee residents.

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Award Amounts

Up to $2,250 per full-time enrollment semester as a freshman and sophomore; then up to $2,850 per full-time enrollment semester as a junior and senior

  • Award amounts are available for summer enrollment, beginning the summer after your freshman year.
  • Class status is determined by the postsecondary institution.

General Assembly Merit Scholarship

Up to $1,500 annual supplement ($500 per full-time semester) to the HOPE Scholarship

Get Information and Apply

Aspire Award

Up to $2,250 annual supplement ($750 per full-time semester) to the HOPE Scholarship

Get Information and Apply


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Applying for the HOPE Scholarship

To be eligible, you must first complete the FAFSA by the priority date, March 15, 2024.

You must also list UT as your first choice for the HOPE Scholarship on the Tennessee Student Assistance Corp. (TSAC) Portal to receive payment.

Finally, you must meet these requirements:

  • Entering freshmen must have a minimum of a 21 ACT (980 old SAT or 1060 new SAT), exclusive of the essay and optional subject area battery tests OR
  • Overall weighted minimum 3.0 grade point average (GPA)—This means 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 composite score on a single test date (980 old SAT or 1060 new SAT), exclusive of the essay and optional subject area battery tests or complete at least two (2) dual enrollment classes while enrolled in the home school program totaling at least six (6) semester hours and achieving a minimum 3.0 college GPA in each of the two (2) dual enrollment courses and achieve a minimum 3.0 cumulative college GPA in all dual enrollment courses attempted.
  • GED Applicants—Minimum 525 and 21 ACT (980 old SAT or 1060 new SAT), exclusive of the essay and optional subject area battery tests
  • If a student ceases to be eligible for HOPE, except for the General Assembly Merit Scholarship (GAMS) and the Tennessee HOPE Access Grant, the student may regain HOPE one time only.
  • ACT/SAT exams must be taken prior to the first day of college enrollment.


The HOPE (Lottery) Scholarship is only available to Tennessee residents.

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Using the HOPE Scholarship

Summer School

The HOPE Scholarship may be used to help pay for summer school, provided that eligible students register for a minimum of six Course Program of Study (CPOS) hours. Find out more by visiting our Summer Aid page.

Transfers to UT

Transfer students must have an official academic transcript sent to UT admissions from all prior institutions, including the most recent semester you attended. Generally this delays payment of Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) awards during the first semester at UT, especially for mid-year transfer students.

High School Students

The Dual Enrollment Grant is awarded to students attending an eligible high school and enrolled in college courses for credit at eligible institutions.

Get Information and Apply

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Retaining the HOPE Scholarship

You must maintain satisfactory academic progress and achieve a cumulative HOPE GPA of 2.75 after attempting twenty-four and forty-eight HOPE attempt hour benchmarks. After reaching the seventy-two-hour benchmark and beyond, you may retain the award in one of two ways:

  • Achieve a cumulative HOPE GPA of at least 3.0 OR
  • If your cumulative HOPE GPA is between 2.75–2.99 and your semester GPA is 3.0 or above in the semester in which you reach the 72, 96, 120 or 144-hour benchmark, then you may retain the award on a semester-to-semester provisional basis. Under these guidelines, you must maintain full-time enrollment to receive payment. However, your payment will be prorated based on Course Program of Study (CPOS) hours. Summer Provisional students are not required to be enrolled full-time. Students must, however, have a minimum of 6 CPOS hours to receive prorated payment.
  • Provisional students will be reviewed at the end of each semester for continued eligibility.

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What Terminates the HOPE Scholarship?

Your HOPE Scholarship is only available until the first of the following events:

  • Student has earned a baccalaureate degree; or
  • Five (5) years have passed from the date of initial enrollment at any post-secondary institution

Regaining the HOPE Scholarship

If you fail to meet the academic renewal requirements and lose the HOPE Scholarship, you can regain the award one time only by meeting the renewal criteria listed below. You cannot appeal to regain your HOPE Scholarship if your GPA falls below the renewal requirements. Once you have met the renewal requirements at a future benchmark, you must complete a HOPE and Institutional Scholarship Appeal form.

Students who received the General Assembly Merit Supplement (GAMS) are not eligible to regain the GAMS portion of the HOPE Scholarship when regaining the award after loss due to GPA.

To regain the HOPE Scholarship, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress and achieve a cumulative HOPE GPA of 2.75 after attempting 48 semester hours. After reaching the seventy-two-hour benchmark and beyond, you may regain the award in one of two ways:

  • Achieve a cumulative HOPE GPA of at least 3.0 OR
  • If your cumulative HOPE GPA is between 2.75-2.99 and your semester GPA is 3.0 or above in the semester in which you reach your 72, 96, 120 or 144-hour benchmark, then you may regain the award on a semester-to-semester provisional basis. Under these guidelines, you must maintain full-time enrollment to receive payment. However, your payment will be prorated based on Course Program of Study (CPOS) hours. Summer Provisional students are not required to be enrolled. They must, however, have a minimum of 6 CPOS hours to receive prorated payment.
  • Provisional students will be reviewed at the end of each semester for continued eligibility.

If you lose the award due to a nonacademic reason—such as not maintaining continuous enrollment or changing your enrollment status from full time to part time, or part time to less than part time—you are not eligible to regain the award unless an appeal is approved by the post-secondary institution or TSAC. To appeal for continued eligibility you must complete the HOPE and Institutional Scholarship Appeal form.