SCHOLARSHIP FAQS AND RESOURCES

The deadline for most 2023 scholarships is February 1, 2023.

The Steven L. Coffey Middle College Memorial Scholarship, the Spenser F. Powell Memorial Law Scholarship, and the Haley Elise Van Pelt Scholarship applications are available April 1, 2023, and the submission deadline is June 1, 2023.

Yes.

Tennessee Promise covers the cost of tuition and mandatory fees not met from the Federal Pell Grant, HOPE Scholarship, or Tennessee Student Assistance Award Programs. Because ETF scholarships may cover other educational expenses, (for example, non-mandatory fees, books, supplies, room and board, etc.), you may be able to apply your ETF scholarship award to these additional educational expenses.

No. Please be sure to allow plenty of time for questions you may have, technology issues, gather and upload all required documents, and answer all application questions well before the deadline. We do not accept incomplete applications.

Know that you can work on parts of your application at any time in draft form, but you must finish and submit by the deadline.

A copy of the first page of your Student Aid Report (SAR) which includes your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) in the upper right-hand corner. To view a sample of the SAR, please click here.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is an application students and their families must complete in order to be considered for federal financial aid and the Tennessee HOPE Lottery Scholarship. The SAR is the report received by the student that summarizes the student’s financial need and provides the official EFC number. If you do not have your SAR, we will accept a copy of your completed FAFSA. Click on Guide to Completing Your Common Scholarship Application for detailed instructions regarding financial need documents.

NOTE: If you are not eligible to submit a FAFSA due to citizenship/immigration status, you may still apply for our scholarships.

1. If the required document exists in an electronic format on your computer, you may upload it by clicking the “Upload a File” button below the application question and choose the desired document from your computer.
2. If you do not have an electronic version, but have access to a scanner, scan the document to create an electronic file and upload it. NOTE: Please do not upload a document that requires a password. For documents that are more than one page, make sure you upload all the pages as one document. If you upload pages individually, the new upload will overwrite the previous upload.
3. If you do not have access to a scanner, you may use a photo of the document.
4. If you are unable to upload your required document, you must upload an attachment stating this fact, and it is your responsibility to ensure the required document is received by East Tennessee Foundation by the deadline.

East Tennessee Foundation makes every effort to notify all applicants of their status; however, if you have not received notification by July 1, you may assume you have not been selected to receive a scholarship.

Contact Beth Heller, Vice President for Scholarship Programs, at bheller@etf.org or Rachel, Program Officer, at rcosby@etf.org or by telephone at (865) 524-1223.

There is no charge to apply.

Based on your answers to the eligibility questions on our Common Application, you will see a list of ETF scholarships for which you are eligible to apply. You will then need to answer additional questions in order to complete the applications for the specific scholarships listed.

In addition, there are seven stand-alone scholarship opportunities that require separate individual applications. They are listed and described on the How to Apply page of our online scholarship portal and our website.

You may be selected as a recipient for more than one scholarship.

No. Payments are mailed directly to your school before the beginning of each semester, trimester, or school year. Checks are made payable to the school, and your account will be credited by the amount of the scholarship award.

Scholarship recipients are selected based upon the specific criteria of each scholarship program. Completed applications are reviewed by members of one of the Foundation’s scholarship selection committees. Committee members recommend students to receive scholarship awards. The Foundation’s Board of Directors will review all recommendations and approve the awards.