Apply for Federal and State Aid

Applying for federal and state aid begins with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is a student's application for all federal grants, work-study, state aid and loans. The only official site to complete the FAFSA is FAFSA Application (if you go to a site that charges a fee or asks for credit card information, you have gone to the incorrect site). The FAFSA must be completed every year. 

  1. View Types of Aid.

  2. Apply for admission to TSU because your TSU admissions application serves as your university merit-scholarship application. 
    Undergraduate Admission  |  Graduate/Professional Admission   

  3. Create your FSA ID StudentAid.gov account (FSA ID)

  4. Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
    Tennessee State University's Federal School Code is 003522.

  5. Apply for TSU department scholarships and other scholarships .

  6. Monitor your myTSU email account and visit your financial aid status page in the myTSU student portal for any incomplete or requested information.

  7. Review/accept your financial aid offer via the myTSU student portal.

  8. YOU MUST also confirm your attendance prior to payment deadlines in order to receive your financial aid. FAFSA

RESOURCES

Federal Student Aid Estimator

Costs for Attendance (Tuition & Fees)

Get Tax Transcripts 

Net Price Calculator

WHAT CAN AFFECT YOUR AID?

Causes for Award Adjustments

Maintaining Your GPA is required

Only Take Courses In Your Major (Course Program of Study/CPOS)

How Withdrawing Affects Your Aid

How to Create Your FSA ID

Your FSA ID is the username and password you will need to create in order to sign your FAFSA form electronically and access certain U.S. Department of Education sites. You can also use your FSA ID as a legal signature to sign your Master Promissory Note (MPN), apply for repayment plans and complete loan counseling. An FSA ID will be necessary for all individuals (students and parent(s)) when completing the FAFSA. Parents will be referred to as "Contributors," and they will be asked to provide information on an student's FAFSA. If a student and their contributor(s) already have an FSA ID, they will not need to create a new FSA ID, however, additional verification steps may be needed to complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA.

To create a FSA ID account, go to studentaid.gov and register with your Social Security number and your personal mobile phone number or email address. If you are a dependent student, one of your guardians will also need their own FSA ID to sign your application electronically. Your FSA ID must be unique-you and your parent can't share the same account username and password. Remember, your FSA ID serves as part of personal identifier as well as an electronic signature. 

Creating a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) - Without SSN
For contributors (i.e. parent) who do not have a Social Security Number (SSN) and have previously signed the FAFSA by printing and mailing in the 'Parent Signature page' will now need to create an FSA ID to complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA. You can create an FSAID regardless of if you have an SSN or not.

Start Early

It is important to realize that in many cases, financial aid alone is not enough to cover all university expenses, especially for our out-of-state students. We recommend that you start early and apply for any scholarships that you are eligible for. Do not wait until registration time to discover that you do not have adequate funding to cover your tuition and fees. Contact us early so we can help!

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

 If you do not list Tennessee State University, we will NOT receive your application and your awarding process may be seriously delayed. Be sure to list Tennessee State University. Our school code is: 003522

 PLEASE TAKE NOTE: The Tennessee State University Office of Financial Aid makes every attempt to process aid applications in a timely manner. If you have applied for aid with the FAFSA and after a reasonable amount of time (no more than a month) have not received any correspondence from our office, please contact us. It is the student's responsibility to ensure we receive your FAFSA application. The primary mode of communication is the "myTSU" student portal. Additionally, we routinely send document requests to the address that you have on file with the Records office. If you move it is your responsibility to inform the records office of your new address.