Minnesota's signature program is North Star Promise, which makes tuition and fees free at Minnesota public and Tribal colleges for residents with a family adjusted gross income under $80,000. The state also offers the broader, need-based Minnesota State Grant. You apply for both by filing the FAFSA or the Minnesota Dream Act Application, with a June 1 deadline for North Star Promise.
If your student attends a Minnesota public or Tribal college and your family earns under $80,000, North Star Promise can cover tuition entirely. Here is how it works for 2026-27.
What state financial aid does Minnesota offer?
Minnesota's main programs are North Star Promise, a free-tuition scholarship, and the Minnesota State Grant, a need-based grant for a wider range of incomes. Both are administered by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE). North Star Promise targets lower- and middle-income families, while the State Grant reaches further up the income scale.
These work alongside federal aid like the Pell Grant. For how the federal pieces fit together, see our complete 2026-27 financial aid guide.
What is North Star Promise?
North Star Promise is a last-dollar scholarship that covers your remaining tuition and fees, after other aid is applied, at Minnesota State colleges and universities, all University of Minnesota campuses, and Tribal colleges. To qualify, you must be a Minnesota resident with a family adjusted gross income below $80,000 on the FAFSA or Minnesota Dream Act Application. There is no age limit, and family size is not considered.
Because it is last-dollar, North Star Promise fills the gap after scholarships, grants, and waivers, so the exact amount varies by student. It is not a loan and does not have to be repaid.
What is the Minnesota State Grant?
The Minnesota State Grant is a need-based grant that helps a broad range of resident students pay for college, including some above the North Star Promise income limit. The award is based on your family's finances, your college's cost, and your enrollment, so middle-income families may qualify even if they do not qualify for free tuition.
The State Grant and North Star Promise are coordinated, so filing one application covers both. For how grants fit a full plan, see our guide to paying for college.
How do you apply for Minnesota state aid?
You apply by filing the FAFSA or the Minnesota Dream Act Application by June 1, 2026, and the state uses it to determine both North Star Promise and the State Grant. There is no separate application. File on time, since the June 1 date governs North Star Promise eligibility.
Your step-by-step path:
- File the FAFSA, or the Minnesota Dream Act Application if you are not eligible for federal aid, by June 1, 2026.
- Confirm your Minnesota residency and that your college participates.
- Check current details at the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.
- Track your college's own aid deadlines.
Your next step
Minnesota's North Star Promise can make public-college tuition free for families under $80,000, and the State Grant helps further up the income scale, but you must file by June 1. File the FAFSA or Dream Act Application on time, confirm your residency, and check details with the Office of Higher Education. Read our complete 2026-27 financial aid guide for the federal side, then create your free CollegeLens plan to see your real cost at each Minnesota school.
You're doing the hard, smart work of claiming free tuition your state offers. That is how Minnesota families make college more affordable.
-- Sravani at CollegeLens