Minnesota student and vocational grants: State Grant, North Star Promise and WIOA (2026-27)

How OHE’s shared-responsibility formula sizes a 2026-27 State Grant

OHE builds a State Grant budget from two pieces. The first is your college’s tuition and fees, capped at a statewide maximum. The second is a living and miscellaneous expense allowance tied to the federal poverty guideline ⁠⁴. You are assigned a fixed share of that budget. Your family is assigned a share based on the parent contribution (dependent students) or the Student Aid Index (independent students). OHE then subtracts your Pell Grant, and what is left is the State Grant ⁠⁴. Everything is prorated by credits out of 15, the state’s definition of full time ⁠³⁠⁴. Awards below $100 a year are not paid ⁠².

Source: OHE parameters memo ⁠¹. A negative contribution counts at 50%, and nothing below -$1,500 is recognized ⁠¹⁠³.

OHE does not publish a single maximum award, so here is the arithmetic for the best case. Take a full-time student in a four-year program at a school charging at least the cap, with a parent contribution of -$1,500 and the full $7,395 Pell. The budget is $30,761, and after the student’s 54.5% share about $13,996 remains. The -$1,500 contribution counts as -$750, which adds $750, and subtracting Pell leaves about $7,351 for the year ⁠¹⁠³⁠⁴. The same student in a certificate or associate program gets about $2,469, because the two-year tuition cap is $7,340. That cap also applies to two-year programs offered at four-year schools ⁠¹⁠². With a $0 contribution, the figures drop to about $6,601 and $1,719.

To be eligible, you must be a Minnesota resident under one of the ten residency tests in state law. Examples are 12 months living in the state, a parent living in Minnesota, or graduating from a Minnesota high school and attending in person ⁠³. You also need a high school diploma or equivalent (or to be 17 and admitted), and you cannot be in default on a student loan or more than 30 days behind on court-ordered child support without a payment plan ⁠². Eligibility ends with a bachelor’s degree or after 120 State Grant-paid credits. Developmental courses do not count toward that limit ⁠². You must reapply every year and keep making satisfactory academic progress ⁠².

Why 2026-27 State Grants are smaller: OHE’s rationing order

State law tells OHE how to cut awards when the appropriation runs short. It adds a surcharge to the family’s share and raises the student’s share by equal dollar amounts ⁠². OHE did this for 2026-27. In its February 2026 projection, OHE counted $187.3 million in base resources for fiscal 2027, down from $307.3 million for fiscal 2026, because $60 million was shifted into the earlier year. Applicants also rose 7.8% to 125,901 in fall 2025 ⁠⁴. The final June parameters held the 54.5% student share and the higher family factors shown above ⁠¹. OHE also had a precedent for an early cutoff: in fiscal 2025, students who had not filed a FAFSA by November 30, 2024 got no State Grant ⁠⁴.

North Star Promise: free tuition below $80,000 AGI at public and tribal colleges

The North Star Promise (NSP) can be used at every Minnesota State college and university, every University of Minnesota campus, and four tribal colleges: Fond du Lac, Leech Lake, Red Lake Nation and White Earth ⁠⁶. It is a last-dollar program. Your college adds up eligible tuition and mandatory fees for the term, subtracts Pell, the State Grant and all other gift aid, and pays the rest. There is no term or yearly cap, and the minimum is $50 per term ⁠⁵. It does not cover housing, books or transportation ⁠⁶.

Two administrative changes took effect for 2026-27. Tuition differentials and surcharges no longer count. For dependent students, family AGI now combines the student’s AGI with the parents’ AGI. Independent students use their own AGI plus a spouse’s ⁠⁵. Only AGI is tested, so a student with a high SAI can still qualify ⁠⁵. Part-time study counts as long as you take at least one credit. Certificates qualify if they run at least 8 semester credits or 300 clock hours over at least eight weeks ⁠⁵.

Funding is also limited for NSP. For 2026-27, OHE set a priority deadline of June 1, 2026, based on your FAFSA’s original receipt date ⁠⁵. North Star Promise Plus, the extra award tied to Pell, is set at 0% for 2026-27 ⁠⁵. Eligibility lasts 48 units (about 60 credits) toward a two-year credential or 96 units (about 120 credits) toward a bachelor’s degree ⁠⁵⁠⁶. As of September 2026, OHE had not decided whether 2027-28 will have a priority deadline ⁠⁶.

The MN Alternative State Financial Aid Application, formerly the MN Dream Act

Undocumented students cannot file the FAFSA, but they can get the State Grant, NSP and in-state tuition by filing the MN Alternative State Financial Aid Application each year ⁠⁷. To qualify, you must have attended a Minnesota high school for at least three years and graduated from one or earned a GED in Minnesota. Men ages 18 to 25 must register with Selective Service ⁠⁷. Proof that you applied for lawful status is required only if a federal process exists, and none exists now ⁠⁷. After you submit, OHE emails a list of residency documents, which you provide only the first time ⁠⁷. OHE runs verification for these applicants, so colleges cannot pay NSP until OHE finishes ⁠⁵. Students with DACA who do not meet these rules may still qualify through a standard residency test ⁠⁷.

Child care and Pell rules that change the package

Student parents can add the Minnesota Postsecondary Child Care Grant, worth up to $6,500 per child under 13 (under 15 if the child has a disability) per nine-month year. That works out to $3,250 per semester. It requires a separate online application, and families on MFIP cannot receive it ⁠⁸. It is not counted against NSP ⁠⁵. The federal Pell Grant ranges from $740 to $7,395 for 2026-27 ⁠¹¹. Starting this year, you lose Pell for any year in which non-federal grants and scholarships equal or exceed your full cost of attendance, including housing and food ⁠¹².

Workforce Pell in Minnesota: priority occupations only

Workforce Pell has paid for short programs since July 1, 2026. A program must run 8 to 14 weeks and 150 to 599 clock hours, show at least 70% completion and 70% job placement, and have met those standards for 12 months before it applies ⁠⁹. People who already have a bachelor’s degree can receive it ⁠¹². Minnesota adds its own filter. The program must train for an occupation on the 2026-27 Priority Occupations List, and three employers must sign validation forms ⁠⁹. The list includes truck drivers, licensed practical nurses, electricians, pharmacy technicians, dental and medical assistants, machinists, HVAC and diesel mechanics, plumbers, paramedics, EMTs, nursing assistants and phlebotomists ⁠⁹.

OHE’s provider window opened in June 2026. The policy set a June 30 deadline, and the Governor’s Workforce Development Board later reported that applications stayed open until August 15 ⁠⁹⁠¹⁰. The governor certifies programs, then the U.S. Department of Education approves them, and OHE posts the list within 30 days of federal approval ⁠⁹. Any award appears simply as Pell on your aid offer and counts toward your lifetime Pell limit ⁠⁸.

CareerForce, WIOA training accounts and the state Dislocated Worker Program

Adults and laid-off workers who want training paid for start at a CareerForce location. Most training is bought through an Individual Training Account (ITA), and the program must be WIOA-certified on Minnesota’s Eligible Training Provider List. You can search that list in DEED’s Career and Education Explorer ⁠¹³⁠¹⁴. Minnesota also accepts programs on other states’ lists ⁠¹³. You and your counselor write a training proposal in your Individual Employment Plan. It compares schools, cost, start dates, length and local labor-market data ⁠¹³. Because WIOA money supplements Pell and state grants, you are expected to apply for those too. You can start while a Pell decision is pending, but the training school must then pay back the WIOA funds that Pell ends up covering ⁠¹³. WIOA and dislocated worker money pay after NSP, so they never shrink an NSP award ⁠⁵.

The state-funded Dislocated Worker Program covers more groups than federal WIOA. It includes people permanently laid off or notified of a layoff, farmers and other self-employed people idled by economic conditions or disasters, displaced homemakers, and veterans discharged within the last 36 months who are unemployed or underemployed ⁠¹⁵.

Getting Minnesota aid for 2027-28: the order of operations

1. File the right form early

   Submit the 2027-28 FAFSA or MN Alternative State Financial Aid Application. Both opened October 1, 2026, and list every Minnesota school you are considering ⁠⁶⁠⁷.

2. File well before June 1, 2027

   That is the date OHE used for 2026-27, and it has not yet said whether 2027-28 will have a priority deadline ⁠⁵⁠⁶.

3. Never miss the State Grant’s 30-day rule

   OHE cannot accept a State Grant application more than 30 days after your term starts ⁠².

4. Answer your college’s residency and verification requests

   Schools must resolve verification and conflicting data before paying NSP. Alternative-application filers wait for OHE’s own verification ⁠⁵.

5. Check the award letter in order

   Pell comes first, then the State Grant, then NSP for remaining tuition and fees. If NSP shows $0, other grants already covered your tuition ⁠⁵.

6. Ask about a special-circumstances review if income fell

   An aid officer’s professional-judgment change to AGI can bring a family under the $80,000 NSP limit ⁠⁵.

7. For short-term training, go to CareerForce

   Expect an assessment interview, pick a WIOA-certified program in the Career and Education Explorer, and ask whether it is approved for Workforce Pell ⁠⁹⁠¹³⁠¹⁴.

8. Track your remaining eligibility

   MNAid shows how many State Grant and NSP units you have used. Withdrawing for military service or a serious health condition earns an extra term ⁠²⁠⁵.

Compare other states on the student and vocational grants hub.