Community College Promise Scholarship

The Maryland Community College Promise Scholarship is a last-dollar scholarship that is available for the 2025-2026 academic year to students who enroll at a Maryland community college. Eligible students can receive up to $5,000 to cover any remaining tuition and mandatory fee expenses after Federal or State financial aid has been applied.

Who May Apply?

A Maryland high school graduate or GED recipient eligible for in-state tuition who is planning to enroll or is currently enrolled full-time or part-time at a Maryland community college in:

A credit-bearing vocational certificate/certificate/associate degree program
A sequence of credit or non-credit courses that leads to licensure or certification
A registered apprenticeship program

How do I apply?

Submit either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) OR MHEC One App (for students who are not eligible to submit a FAFSA) and contact their local community college in order to apply.

Application Filing Deadline for Academic Year 2025-2026 is April 1, 2026

Required Documentation

After completing the FAFSA or MHEC One app eligible applicants must submit certain documentation for further consideration of the award directly to their institution.

Grade Point Average (GPA) & General Education Development (GED) Requirements for Initial Applicants

High School GPA Requirements	High school seniors must have earned an unweighted cumulative 2.3 GPA at the end of the first semester of their senior year in high school or by the end of their senior year in high school.
Community College GPA requirements	Individuals currently enrolled at a community college must document that they earned a cumulative GPA of at least a 2.5 while previously or currently enrolled at a community college.
GED Requirements	GED applicants must submit a copy of their examination.

Exceptions to submitting a high school transcript: An initial applicant who graduated from high school five or more years before applying for the scholarship is exempt from submitting a high school transcript to document the GPA requirement. Students must contact their institution in order to submit the required documentation.

Income Requirements

Students must be within the required adjusted gross income limits based on the applicable tax year:

Academic Year	Tax Year
2025-2026	2023

$100,000 if the applicant is single or resides in a single-parent household; or

$150,000 if the applicant is married or resides in a two-parent household.

All documentation must be submitted to your institution. No documentation will be accepted through MDCAPS.

Renewal Requirements

To remain eligible for the award, recipients must meet the following requirements:

Continue to be eligible for in-state tuition
Annually file the FAFSA or MHEC One App by April 1
Continue to meet the adjusted gross income requirements
Enroll in and complete:

A sequence of credit or non-credit courses that leads to licensure or certification; AND
6 credits at the end of the each semester in a credit bearing program.

Maintain at least a 2.5 cumulative community college GPA if enrolled in a credit bearing program
Make satisfactory academic progress toward a vocational certificate/certificate/registered apprenticeship/associate degree

More information on the Conditions of Award

What are the Enrollment Requirements?

All eligible applicants must attend the community college located in their county, or in the case of a regional community college, the region in which they live. Regional community colleges are: Wor-Wic Community College; Chesapeake College; and College of Southern Maryland.
If the community college located where the applicant lives does not offer the degree or program in which they enrolled, the applicant may attend any other Maryland community college that offers the program.
Eligible applicants may use the scholarship to attend a community college that has on-campus residential facilities for students.
Applicants who plan to enroll as candidates in credit-bearing vocational certificates, credit-bearing certificates, or associate degrees must enroll in at least 6 credits per semester at a community college.
Applicants who plan to enroll in a sequence of credit or non-credit courses that leads to licensure or certification must enroll in the next available courses offered at the community college for their sequence.

Requirements for Non-Credit Applicants

Any applicant who plans to enroll at the community college as a non-credit “Continuing Education" applicant in a sequence of non-credit courses that leads to licensure or certification or a registered apprenticeship program must:

Submit either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) OR MHEC One App by April 1, with the understanding that the MHEC One App should only be completed by undocumented individuals who are ineligible to receive federal financial aid; and
Complete the Promise Non-Credit Application online through the MHEC One App in MDCAPS and meet all other requirements for consideration of the Promise award.

For Continuing Education applicants only, the deadline to complete the application is a rolling deadline for each academic year.

For more information concerning the Maryland Community College Promise Scholarship, view the Frequently Asked Questions Guide.

Community College Promise Scholarship

The Maryland Community College Promise Scholarship regulations have been published online under the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR).