TELS Continuing Eligibility

A student who is initially eligible for a Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship must continue to meet eligibility requirements in regard to GPA and enrollment status.

How can I keep my lottery scholarship?

• Aim for a 3.0 TELS GPA and maintain it! Check your lottery GPA and other stats (available in the Records section of RaiderNet) frequently to know how you're doing.
• Enroll in at least one class every fall and spring semester; don't skip any semesters except summer. (You must enroll in at least 6 hours to receive a scholarship for a particular semester, though!)
• Be careful about dropping classes. Don't drop a class if it will cause you to fall below 12 hours for the semester. If you started the semester in part-time status (6 to 11 hours), don't drop a class if it will cause you to fall below 6 hours for the semester.
• Watch your calendar! You can receive the scholarship for only 5 years after you start college (or until you complete your first degree)
• For students who first received the scholarship in Fall 2009 or later: Be careful to take only the classes you need and to pass them the first time! You are limited to 120 attempted hours, unless your degree requires more hours for all students in the major. Many students will run out of hours before graduating! Visit our Lottery Changes webpage for more details.

If I lose my scholarship, can I get it back?

• You may be able to appeal if you lost your scholarship because you didn't meet the enrollment requirements due to extenuating circumstances.
• You may be able to regain eligibility later by raising your GPA, if you lost your scholarship because you didn't meet the GPA requirements.
• You can find more information about both appealing and regaining eligibility at the links below.

Where can I find more detailed information?

• Visit College Pays TN for the actual legislative rules, the state TELS policies, and updates to the rules.
• Visit our Continuing Eligibility Rules web page for an explanation of the rules. (updated October, 2011)
• Visit our Non-Traditional Lottery Recipients web page for information about initial and continuing eligibility requirements for non-traditional students.

Be sure to revisit these sites periodically; lottery rules are updated annually and state interpretations of rules may change periodically.