Dresden High School 2024 FAFSA Champion

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.

West Tennessee high schools honored as 2024 FAFSA Champions include:

Benton County

• Big Sandy School
• Camden Central High School

Carroll County

• West Carroll Junior/Senior High School

Decatur County

• Riverside High School

Fayette County

• Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School

Gibson County

• Bradford High School
• Humboldt High School

Haywood County

• Haywood High School

Hardeman County

• Central High School
• Middleton High School

Hardin County

• Hardin County High School

Henderson County

• Lexington High School
• Scotts Hill High School

Lake County

• Lake Co High School

Lauderdale County

• Ripley High School

Madison County

• Liberty Technology Magnet High School
• Madison Academic Magnet High School

McNairy County

• Adamsville Junior / Senior High School
• McNairy Central High School

Obion County

• Obion County Central High School
• Union City High School

Shelby County

• Bolton High
• Craigmont High
• Central High
• City University School Of Liberal Arts
• George Washington Carver College and Career Academy
• Martin Luther King Preparatory High School
• Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering 
• Memphis School of Excellence
• Memphis Virtual School
• Middle College High
• Millington Central High School
• Mitchell High
• Northeast Preparatory Academy
• Northwest Prep Academy
• Power Center Academy High School
• Ridgeway High
• Soulsville Charter School
• Wooddale High

Tipton County

• Covington High School
• Munford High School

Weakley County

• Dresden 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.