Beginning in fall 2024, the North Star Promise Scholarship program will provide eligible Minnesota residents a tuition-free path to achieve their higher education goals at eligible institutions, including Normandale Community College.
The North Star Promise Scholarship program is a “last-dollar” program, covering the balance of aid eligible tuition and mandatory fees remaining after other scholarships, grants, and tuition waivers have been applied.
New, continuing and returning students are eligible. Students must:
Download the North Star Promise Program Fact Sheet
The North Star Promise Fact Sheet is also available in Spanish, Hmong and Somali.
Applying is free! Simply file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Minnesota Dream Act Application and complete any other steps needed to determine your financial aid eligibility. Normandale Community College will automatically review your information and make awards to eligible students.
In order to be eligible, you must be admitted to Normandale as a degree seeking student, so don't forget to apply for admission!
Need assistance completing your financial aid application? Attend an upcoming financial aid completion session or drop in to Student Services during business hours.
Normandale will calculate your award amount by determining your financial aid eligible tuition and required fee charges, subtracting all other sources of gift aid and award the remaining amount in a North Star Promise scholarship.
Before calculating your award, this program will consider any other sources of gift aid funding that you receive. “Gift aid” is financial aid that does not require repayment, such as scholarships, grants, stipends, third-party payments and tuition waivers. Loans and work study are not sources of gift aid. The goal of this strategy is to utilize available program funds to provide as many eligible students as possible a tuition and fee-free pathway to a college education.
Students will be notified of their eligibility for North Star Promise through the award notification in eServices. Because the amount you receive is dependent on your individual registration, tuition and fees bill, and gift aid eligibility, the calculation of your amount may not occur at the same time as your other financial aid eligibility. Students may be notified that they are eligible to have their tuition and fees covered with the exact amount of eligibility determined after the semester has started.
There is no maximum length of time for which you can receive the award. However, for students earning 2-year degrees, you can receive the award for a total of 60 credits. For students earning 4-year degrees, you can receive the award for a total of 120 credits. The maximum credits for which any student is eligible is a total of 120 credits.
This award is calculated on a term-by-term basis. If new sources of gift aid are awarded to you, the North Star Promise scholarship will be recalculated.
You must continue to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards at Normandale to be eligible.
No, there is no age criteria used for eligibility for the program.
No, the program is open to new and returning students who meet the eligibility criteria.
The Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) comes from the Federal 1040 Income Tax Return. The first year of the program is the 2024-2025 academic year and the corresponding FAFSA or Minnesota Dream Act application asks about prior, prior year AGI. In other words, the AGI from 2022. This can be found on line 11 of the 1040.
Dependent students will have the AGI of their parent(s), and stepparent if applicable, considered for the program’s family AGI threshold of below $80,000. The AGI of dependent students will not be considered. When parents are divorced, separated or never married, and do not live together, the parent who provides more financial support to the student should be the parent of record for the FAFSA or Minnesota Dream Act. This is the parent whose income will be reviewed when determining eligibility for North Star Promise. If the parent who provides more financial support has remarried as of the date the FAFSA or Minnesota Dream Act is filed, the stepparent’s AGI will also be taken into account when determining eligibility.
Independent students will have the AGI of the student considered for program eligibility. If the student is married, the student and spouse's combined AGI must be below $80,000 in order to be eligible for the North Star Promise Scholarship. You can review what makes a student either dependent or independent here.
Yes. If you meet all of the eligibility requirements, but the total of your other sources of “gift aid” (scholarships, grants, waivers and stipends) already covers the amount of your tuition and required fees at Normandale, you will not be awarded a North Star Promise Scholarship. This is because the sum of your other aid has already provided you with enough funds to cover your tuition and required fees charges.
More information about dependent and independent students can be found on the Minnesota Office for Higher Education North Star Promise Scholarship Frequently Asked Questions webpage.
Student Services is available to assist your with your financial aid application in person and virtually. You can drop by anytime during business hours or attend a completion session.
1st Floor, College Services
Hours: M-W 8 am - 5 pm; Th 10 am to 5 pm; F 8 am to 12:00 pm (Virtual only - Campus is closed on Fri) Closed weekends and holidays
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