Minnesota college grants come from two big programs run by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE): the Minnesota State Grant, a need-based grant calculated from your FAFSA, and the North Star Promise, which covers remaining tuition and fees at Minnesota public colleges and Tribal Colleges for residents with a family adjusted gross income (AGI) below $80,000. Both use the FAFSA, or the Minnesota Dream Act Application for students who cannot file it.
A sourcing note: OHE’s web pages blocked automated reading when we checked in November 2026, so everything below comes from OHE’s own published PDFs, which we could read in full.
North Star Promise: tuition-free for families under $80,000
OHE’s 2026-27 program manual says that since fall 2024, North Star Promise has “created a tuition and fee-free pathway to higher education for eligible Minnesota residents” as a last-dollar program, “covering the balance of tuition and fees remaining after other scholarships, grants, stipends and tuition waivers have been applied” (OHE, State Financial Aid Manual: North Star Promise 2026-27).
Who qualifies for North Star Promise
- Residency: you must meet Minnesota’s resident student definition.
- School: you must attend a Minnesota public institution or Tribal College: all Minnesota State colleges and universities, all University of Minnesota campuses, and Minnesota Tribal Colleges.
- Income: family AGI must be below $80,000. For dependent students that is the student’s and parents’ AGI combined; for independent students, the student’s and spouse’s.
- Application: a FAFSA or Minnesota Dream Act Application. For 2026-27, OHE says it had to be submitted by June 1, 2026.
The AGI comes from your FAFSA, which uses “prior, prior year tax information,” so the income OHE looks at is two years old. OHE notes that AGI is on line 11 of the federal Form 1040, and a parent or student not required to file taxes counts as $0. Because income changes, you can qualify one year and not the next.
North Star Promise Plus is unfunded for 2026-27
North Star Promise Plus was an extra award for non-tuition costs, calculated from a student’s Pell Grant. OHE’s manual says it “projects an insufficient amount of available funds to award NSP+ for the 2026-27 aid year and has set the percentage to zero.” Plan on the base award only.
Minnesota State Grant: how it is calculated in 2026-27
The State Grant uses a “shared responsibility” formula: the student, the family and the federal government each cover part of a recognized cost. OHE’s June 1, 2026 memo to colleges sets the final 2026-27 parameters (OHE, Mandatory State Grant Parameters for 2026-2027):
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| State Grant parameter | 2025-26 actual | 2026-27 final |
|---|---|---|
| Living and miscellaneous expense allowance | $12,444 | $12,690 |
| Assigned student responsibility | 50% | 54.5% |
| Tuition and fee maximum, two-year programs | $6,909 | $7,340 |
| Tuition and fee maximum, four-year programs | $17,717 | $18,071 |
| Federal Pell Grant maximum used in the formula | $7,395 | $7,395 |
| Family responsibility proration, dependent students | 95% | 185% |
| Proration, independent students with dependents | 71% | 138% |
| Proration, independent students without dependents | 35% | 68% |
Two changes stand out for 2026-27. The share students are assigned rose from 50% to 54.5%, and the share assigned to families roughly doubled across all three student types. In plain terms, the same family will generally be expected to cover more in 2026-27 than in 2025-26, and some students who received a State Grant last year may receive less or none. The memo does not publish a maximum award; your college calculates your award from these parameters and your FAFSA.
North Star Promise and the State Grant side by side
| North Star Promise | Minnesota State Grant | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | Family AGI below $80,000 | Shared-responsibility need formula |
| Pays | Tuition and fees left after other gift aid | Calculated award from 2026-27 parameters |
| Schools | Minnesota public colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges | Eligible Minnesota colleges |
| Application | FAFSA or MN Dream Act (by June 1 for 2026-27) | FAFSA or MN Dream Act |
How to apply
- File the 2027-28 FAFSA, or the Minnesota Dream Act Application if you cannot file the FAFSA. Do not file both. Our guide on how to fill out the FAFSA walks through each section.
- List every Minnesota college you are considering.
- For North Star Promise, file well before June 1, 2027, assuming OHE keeps the same date for 2027-28.
- Check each college’s own priority date and term deadlines. Our FAFSA deadlines guide explains how they fit.
How Minnesota aid fits with federal aid
North Star Promise is applied after the Federal Pell Grant and the State Grant. For award years beginning on or after July 1, 2026, a student whose non-federal aid equals or exceeds the cost of attendance is not eligible for Pell, according to a June 4, 2026 Federal Student Aid electronic announcement. Cost of attendance includes housing and food, so a tuition-only award like North Star Promise rarely reaches it.
Questions Minnesota families ask
Does North Star Promise work at a private college?
No. OHE lists Minnesota State, University of Minnesota campuses and Minnesota Tribal Colleges as the eligible institutions.
Our AGI is under $80,000 but our SAI is high. Does that matter?
OHE notes this is possible, though not common. North Star Promise eligibility uses AGI, while the State Grant uses the need formula, so the two can point in different directions.
What if our AGI is just over $80,000?
You would not qualify for North Star Promise that year, but you may still qualify for the State Grant, which uses its own formula. File the FAFSA either way, and ask your college about a professional judgment review if your income has since dropped.
Where to go next
Compare Minnesota with other states in our guide to state grants for college, and use our free scholarship finder to look for awards that stack on top. The North Star Promise cut-off to remember is a family AGI below $80,000.