Michigan student and vocational grants: Achievement Scholarship, Reconnect, TIP and WIOA (2026-27)

Three Michigan Achievement Scholarship paths, chosen by where you enroll

The Michigan Achievement Scholarship is limited to students who finished high school, or earned a high school equivalency certificate, in 2023 or later ⁠¹. Its award depends on the school you choose:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Sources: MI Student Aid program pages ⁠¹⁠²⁠³. A Guarantee student who transfers to a bachelor’s program can renew for up to five consecutive years in total ⁠².

The Community College Guarantee only covers the in-district rate. If your home address is outside the college’s taxing district, you get a discount instead of free tuition, so ask the financial aid office how it classifies you ⁠². The $1,000 bonus can be spent on books, transportation and rent ⁠².

FY 2027 brought three changes. You no longer need a Michigan high school diploma, though you still must meet Michigan residency rules. The Skills Scholarship and the main scholarship can now be paid in the same year, but not in the same term. The Skills Scholarship also now requires you to start within 15 months of graduating ⁠⁴. The Skills Scholarship has its own application in the MiSSG Student Portal. You cannot use it once you hold an associate or bachelor’s degree ⁠³. MiLEAP pays Skills awards monthly, from November 11, 2026 to September 8, 2027 ⁠⁴.

The 30,000 SAI line and the 15-month clock for recent graduates

To get the College and University award, you need a Student Aid Index of 30,000 or less on the FAFSA. You must enroll full time as an undergraduate and start within 15 months of finishing high school. For the class of 2026, that means enrolling by fall 2027 ⁠¹. You must have lived in Michigan since July 1 of the previous calendar year. If you are a dependent student, your parent must meet the same rule ⁠¹. Students who received the scholarship in 2023-24 meet the need test for 2026-27 automatically if they file the 2026-27 FAFSA, whatever their SAI ⁠¹. Each year you must refile the FAFSA, stay full time and meet your college’s Satisfactory Academic Progress policy. If you lose the award, you get it back once you meet those terms again ⁠¹. Being in default on a federal student loan disqualifies you ⁠¹.

The 15-month rule is the trap. Taking a gap year that runs past the following fall forfeits the scholarship for good. Graduates who miss the window should look at Reconnect once they turn 21.

Michigan Reconnect at 21: tuition-free community college for adults

Michigan Reconnect is a last-dollar scholarship. Your Pell Grant and any other tuition-restricted state aid pay your bill first, and Reconnect covers whatever in-district tuition, mandatory fees and contact-hour charges remain ⁠⁶. Michigan Education Trust payouts, Promise Zone awards, loans, work-study and private scholarships are not subtracted ⁠⁶. Reconnect never pays more than the in-district rate, so out-of-district students may owe a balance ⁠⁶.

The FY 2027 budget permanently lowered the minimum age from 25 to 21. The application opened in mid-August, and the new group of eligible students could start in fall 2026 ⁠⁴. To qualify, you must ⁠⁵:

• be 21 or older when you apply
• have lived in Michigan for at least a year
• hold a high school diploma, an equivalency certificate or a certificate of completion
• not have an associate or bachelor’s degree

Independent students need 12 months of continuous Michigan residency before the program starts. For dependent students, residency follows FAFSA contributor 1, whose residency must date from July 1, 2025 or earlier for 2026-27 ⁠⁴⁠⁵. Any Pell-eligible skill certificate or associate degree program at a public community college or Tribal college qualifies ⁠⁵.

Tuition Incentive Program for students who had Medicaid

TIP is for students who had Medicaid for 24 months within a 36-month period between age 9 and high school graduation. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services identifies these students, and letters go out starting in sixth grade ⁠⁷. You must finish high school before age 20 and start using TIP within four years. Once your first payment is made, your eligibility lasts 10 years ⁠⁷. Starting in FY 2027, students in special education when they graduate have until age 26 to finish high school ⁠⁴.

Phase I pays tuition and mandatory fees (fees up to $450 a semester) for a certificate or associate degree. It pays the in-district rate at community colleges and the lower-division rate at five public universities ⁠⁷. At private colleges, the Phase I rate is $138 per credit hour for 2026-27 ⁠⁴. Phase II pays $500 a semester, up to $2,000 in total, toward a bachelor’s degree. It opens after you earn a certificate, an associate degree or 56 transferable credits ⁠⁷. The governor’s FY 2027 budget proposed closing Phase II to new students ⁠⁷, but MiLEAP’s July 2026 summary of enacted changes does not list that cut ⁠⁴. If you have a TIP letter and also receive Medicaid or FIP cash help, the Michigan cash assistance guide explains those benefits.

Michigan Tuition Grant and Competitive Scholarship: renewals only

Michigan’s two older grants still pay continuing students, but no one new can get them. The Michigan Tuition Grant pays up to $3,000 a year toward tuition at private nonprofit colleges. Only students who were first paid in 2023-24 or earlier can still receive it ⁠⁸. The Michigan Competitive Scholarship pays up to $1,500 a year to students who scored at least 1200 on the SAT, and it is closed to anyone who graduated in 2023 or later ⁠⁹. Renewing students must file the FAFSA by July 1, keep a 2.0 GPA and enroll at least half time. Both programs end permanently on September 30, 2029 ⁠⁸⁠⁹. Together they have $50 million in FY 2027 work project funding ⁠⁴.

Students who cannot file a FAFSA in Michigan

Some states offer their own aid form for students who cannot file the FAFSA. Michigan does not. The Achievement Scholarship, the Community College Guarantee, Reconnect and TIP all require a FAFSA ⁠¹⁠²⁠⁵⁠⁷. The Achievement Scholarship and the Guarantee also require you to be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or approved refugee ⁠¹⁠². Starting in FY 2027, a FAFSA flagged with reject code 74 or 75 makes you ineligible for state aid until you complete identity verification ⁠⁴. If you are in that situation, the WIOA route below has its own eligibility rules.

Pell, Workforce Pell and Michigan Works! training money

For July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, the Pell Grant ranges from $740 to $7,395 ⁠¹⁰. Workforce Pell has applied since the 2026-27 award year. It covers programs that run 8 to 14 weeks with 150 to 599 clock hours, have completion and job placement rates of at least 70%, and are certified by the governor and approved by the U.S. Department of Education ⁠¹¹. People who already hold a bachelor’s degree can receive it, but federal loans and work-study cannot be used for these programs. WIOA funding can be combined with it ⁠¹¹.

Michigan has its own steps on top of those rules. Programs must be listed on Michigan Training Connect (MiTC) and must lead to credentials that count for college credit. Each program must also match the state’s eligible occupation list, which includes welders, electricians, licensed practical nurses, phlebotomists, HVAC mechanics and heavy truck drivers ⁠¹². The first state application window closed June 15, 2026. The next ones run January 15 to February 12, 2027, and July 15 to August 27, 2027 ⁠⁴⁠¹². As of October 2026, MiLEAP had not posted a list of approved Michigan programs on the pages reviewed, so ask your college whether its program is approved before you count on Workforce Pell.

WIOA training money comes through local Michigan Works! Agencies. They run adult and dislocated worker programs all year with federal funds that LEO allocates each July ⁠¹³. Adult services are open to anyone 18 or older who is a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen and is registered for Selective Service if required. Veterans, public assistance recipients, other low-income adults and people who lack basic skills get priority ⁠¹³. An Individual Training Account (ITA) pays only for programs listed on MiTC ⁠¹⁴. Your local board can cap how much an ITA pays and how long training lasts. Pell can cover costs above the cap, and once an agency’s funds for the program year run out, it stops issuing new ITAs ⁠¹⁵.

Applying for Michigan aid for 2027-28, step by step

1. File the 2027-28 FAFSA

   Your FAFSA is the application for the Achievement Scholarship, the Guarantee and TIP. Renewing Tuition Grant students should list their Michigan college first, because MI Student Aid bases that award on the first Michigan college on the FAFSA ⁠⁸. Renewing Tuition Grant or Competitive Scholarship students must file by July 1 ⁠⁸⁠⁹.

2. Clear identity verification right away

   If the FAFSA comes back with reject code 74 or 75, finish verification, or you get no state aid ⁠⁴.

3. Confirm your district status

   Ask your community college whether it counts you as in-district, because the Guarantee and Reconnect only cover the in-district rate ⁠²⁠⁶.

4. Adults 21 and older: apply for Reconnect

   Finish the online Reconnect application, apply to a public community college, file the FAFSA and enroll in an eligible program ⁠⁵.

5. Short-term training: start at Michigan Works!

   Call 800-285-9675 or visit a service center. Bring proof of age, citizenship or work authorization and income, and choose a program listed on MiTC ⁠¹³⁠¹⁴. Recent graduates should also apply for the Skills Scholarship in the MiSSG Student Portal ⁠³.

6. Watch your award and renewal terms

   State awards are paid to colleges every quarter, starting November 11, 2026 ⁠⁴. If you lose the Achievement Scholarship for academic progress, you can earn it back once you meet the renewal terms again ⁠¹. Questions go to MI Student Aid at 888-447-2687 ⁠¹.

For the same programs in other states, see the 50-state student and vocational grants comparison.