Tennessee Higher Education Commission Announces 2024 FAFSA Champions

An impressive 117 high schools across Tennessee have been recognized this year as FAFSA Champions for the Class of 2024.

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) and the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) award the designation of FAFSA Champion to schools whose Tennessee Promise FAFSA completion rate exceeds 90% or increased by 5% or more over the previous year.

THEC/TSAC partnered earlier this year with dozens of education and community partners across the state to launch a special FAFSA Frenzy campaign to strongly encourage and support all students and families in completing the FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Middle Tennessee high schools honored as 2024 FAFSA Champions include:

Bedford County

• Community High School

Davidson County

• Hume – Fogg High
• Hunters Lane High
• Independence Academy High School
• Lead Southeast
• Martin Luther King Jr School
• Nashville Big Picture High School
• Valor College Prep
• Whites Creek High

Houston County

• Houston Co High School

Lawrence County

• Lawrence Co High School
• Loretto High School
• Summertown High School

Lewis County

• Lewis Co High School

Lincoln County

• Lincoln County High School

Macon County

• Red Boiling Springs School

Marshall County

• Forrest School

Maury County

• Hampshire Unit School
• Santa Fe Unit School

Montgomery County

• Middle College at Austin Peay State University

Moore County

• Moore County High School

Perry County

• Perry County High School

Robertson County

• East Robertson High School
• Jo Byrns High School

Rutherford County

• Blackman High School
• Central Magnet School
• Eagleville School
• Lavergne High School

Sumner County

• Gallatin Senior High School
• Merrol Hyde Magnet School

Warren County

• Warren County High School

Wayne County

• Collinwood High School
• Frank Hughes School
• Wayne County High School

Williamson County

• Brentwood High School
• Franklin High School
• Independence High School
• Nolensville High School
• Ravenwood High School
• Summit High School

“Tennessee continues to be the number one state in the nation in the number of high school seniors that complete the FAFSA. We applaud and celebrate each of these high schools for their leadership and success,” said Dr. Steven Gentile, THEC Executive Director.

Gentile said that despite challenges encountered by students, parents, and school counselors with the delayed federal roll-out of a new FAFSA this year, Tennessee virtually matched last year’s FAFSA completion results. The state’s overall FAFSA completion rate among Tennessee Promise applicants in the Class of 2024 is 73.9%, compared to 74.1% last year. Moreover, the state reduced the gap between FAFSA submissions and completions to just 4.1% for the Class of 2024, down from 12.5% last year.

“This year’s success did not happen by accident. It came from the hard work and dedication of thousands of high school counselors and educators, financial aid advisors at our colleges and universities, and our many community, state, and nonprofit partners all coming together to support Tennessee families and to help ensure every student has the opportunity to continue their education beyond high school.”

Research shows that students who complete the FAFSA are far more likely to enroll in higher education or technical training after high school. The FAFSA opens the door to state and federal scholarships, grants, and other forms of financial aid that can kick-start college and career success.

To assist in navigating the FAFSA process, THEC and TSAC have curated a number of resources for students and schools at CollegeforTN.org to support Tennessee’s FAFSA completion efforts. Student resources include step-by-step FAFSA-filing instructions and videos. School resources include guides focused on helping high schools strengthen their FAFSA completion and college-going numbers.

Federal officials have announced that the FAFSA for the Class of 2025 will open on December 1, 2024.

THEC/TSAC recently announced significant momentum in increasing the state’s college-going rate, highlighted by a 2.4 percentage point increase for the class of 2023 over the class of 2022.

The college-going rate indicates the percentage of Tennessee’s public high school graduates who seamlessly enroll in postsecondary education immediately after high school.

The state’s 56.7% college-going rate for the class of 2023 represents the largest year-over-year increase since the initial implementation of the tuition-free Tennessee Promise scholarship in 2015.

For a complete list of this year’s FAFSA Champions, please visit CollegeforTN.org/TNFAFSAChallenge.