New Hampshire student and vocational grants: UNIQUE, Granite Guarantee, WIOA (2026-27)

How the UNIQUE grants reach New Hampshire students

The State Treasury lists the eligibility rules for both UNIQUE programs. You must be a New Hampshire resident, be eligible for federal aid such as Pell, and attend an approved, licensed and accredited college in New Hampshire ⁠⁴. The UNIQUE Annual Allocation Program (UAAP) is for undergraduates. The UNIQUE Endowment Allocation Program (UEAP) pays scholarships from the earnings on endowments the state places with colleges. It can go to undergraduate or graduate students, and its awards run from $1,000 up to the cost of attendance ⁠⁴.

The Treasury’s January 2026 page listed UAAP at $2,500 for full-time students, prorated for part-time study ⁠⁴. The awards colleges publish for 2026-27 are higher, as the table shows.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Sources: Keene State, UNH College of Professional Studies and White Mountains Community College aid pages ⁠¹⁠²⁠³. UNH CPS warns that awards depend on funding and not every eligible student gets one ⁠².

The deadline that matters is your college’s, not the state’s. Late filers can miss out once the school’s allocation is spent ⁠²⁠³.

The Governor’s Scholarship: $1,000 or $2,000, if your college still has it

The Governor’s Scholarship Program is for New Hampshire high school graduates or recent graduates who enroll full time at a participating New Hampshire college. A first-year, Pell-eligible student who earned the New Hampshire Scholar designation can receive $2,000 a year, and other eligible students $1,000 a year. Awards last up to four years with satisfactory progress and are applied to tuition, fees and direct costs ⁠⁴. There is no state application. The Treasury tells students to ask their college’s financial aid office ⁠⁴. None of the 2026-27 aid pages reviewed for this guide (Keene State, UNH College of Professional Studies, White Mountains Community College) lists the program ⁠¹⁠²⁠³. Treat it as uncertain for new 2026-27 students until your aid office confirms an award.

Tuition-free at UNH, Keene State and Plymouth State: Granite Guarantee, then the New Hampshire Promise

The University System of New Hampshire (USNH) runs its own tuition guarantee, paid for with its own institutional aid on top of federal and state grants. Since 2017, the Granite Guarantee has covered tuition for Pell-eligible New Hampshire students, and more than 4,000 students have qualified ⁠⁶. Students who already have it keep it for the rest of their undergraduate years ⁠⁵.

From fall 2027, new students move to the New Hampshire Promise, which reaches families well above Pell range ⁠⁵⁠⁶. To qualify you must:

• be a New Hampshire resident who qualifies for in-state tuition
• be admitted to UNH Durham, UNH Manchester, UNH College of Professional Studies Online, Keene State or Plymouth State
• have total family income of up to $100,000, with typical assets
• file the FAFSA and show financial need
• enroll full time as a first-time undergraduate, or transfer in with an associate degree from a New Hampshire community college
• have a GPA of at least 2.7 from your prior school

The Promise covers standard tuition in fall and spring only. It does not cover fees, housing, food, books, or January and summer terms. It renews each year based on your FAFSA, academic standing and full-time status ⁠⁵. Only entering students can join, so a family whose income drops later does not become eligible ⁠⁵.

Community colleges: $238 a credit and a promise that is not law yet

The seven community colleges charge New Hampshire residents $238 per credit in 2026-27, so 30 credits cost $7,140 in tuition before fees ⁠⁷. On October 14, 2026, Governor Kelly Ayotte proposed a Community College Promise Program. It would be a last-dollar grant covering any tuition left after federal and state grants, for residents with family income up to $100,000 who file the FAFSA, take at least 6 credits a semester and keep a 2.0 GPA ⁠⁸. The plan must pass in the FY 2028-29 state budget, a process that should end by June 30, 2027, before it can start in fall 2027 ⁠⁸. For 2026-27, community college students rely on Pell, UNIQUE and college scholarships ⁠³⁠⁸.

No FAFSA, no state grant

New Hampshire has no state alternative to the FAFSA. UNIQUE awards require Pell eligibility, and both USNH programs and the proposed community college plan require the FAFSA ⁠¹⁠⁴⁠⁵⁠⁸. Students who cannot file a FAFSA have no state grant route in New Hampshire. Their options are college and foundation scholarships, so ask each aid office directly.

WIOA training money through NH Works

New Hampshire runs WIOA as a single statewide area, with no local workforce boards. BEA’s Office of Workforce Opportunity (OWO) runs the program and the State Workforce Innovation Board advises it ⁠⁹⁠¹¹. You apply in person at any of the 12 NH Works offices ⁠⁹:

• Adult program: for people 18 and older who can work in the U.S. and are registered with Selective Service. Public assistance recipients, other low-income adults and people who are basic-skills deficient get priority, and veterans get priority in all programs ⁠⁹. The statewide operator, Community Action Partnership of Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties (CAPHR), says the program can pay up to $6,500 of tuition and $1,500 of support services such as transportation, child care, uniforms and tools ⁠¹⁰.
• Dislocated Worker program: for residents who were laid off through no fault of their own, are eligible for or have used up unemployment benefits, and are unlikely to return to their old occupation. NH Employment Security runs it ⁠⁹.
• Youth program: serves ages 14 to 24 who face barriers to work or school ⁠⁹.

An Individual Training Account (ITA) pays only for a program on New Hampshire’s Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL). OWO approves providers and reviews each program’s outcomes ⁠¹¹. Registered apprenticeships can be listed. Reciprocal agreements let New Hampshire participants use an ITA for programs on the Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine lists ⁠¹¹. The state plan says the list is online at nscite.org, but that address no longer leads to a state site. Ask your counselor for the current list ⁠¹¹.

Pell and Workforce Pell for New Hampshire students

For July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, Pell ranges from $740 to $7,395, and Keene State’s aid page lists the same $7,395 maximum ⁠¹⁠¹⁴. Workforce Pell extends Pell to programs of 8 to under 15 weeks and 150 to 599 clock hours that have at least 70% completion and job placement ⁠¹⁵. People with a bachelor’s degree can receive it, but not graduate students. Direct Loans and work-study are not available for these programs, but WIOA funds can be combined with Workforce Pell ⁠¹⁵.

In New Hampshire, BEA screens programs for the governor. A program must already be on the ETPL and have run for at least a year. The State Workforce Innovation Board votes on applications quarterly, and approved programs then go to the U.S. Department of Education ⁠¹³. As of October 2026, no New Hampshire program is approved. BEA expects the first ones to take Workforce Pell students in early 2027 and will post them on its Workforce Pell page ⁠¹²⁠¹³.

Filing for 2027-28 aid in New Hampshire, step by step

1. File the 2027-28 FAFSA early

   It is the only application for Pell, UNIQUE, the Granite Guarantee and the New Hampshire Promise ⁠¹⁠⁵. Use your college’s earliest date: December 31 at White Mountains Community College, January 31 at UNH College of Professional Studies, and March 1 for returning Keene State students ⁠¹⁠²⁠³.

2. Confirm residency with the college

   UNIQUE and the New Hampshire Promise both require New Hampshire residency as the college determines it ⁠⁴⁠⁵.

3. Ask the aid office which state money it has

   Find out the college’s UNIQUE Annual and Endowment amounts and whether it is making new Governor’s Scholarship awards. Each college receives only a fixed share ⁠²⁠⁴.

4. Check your enrollment level against each award

   UNIQUE Annual is prorated for part-time study. Some UNIQUE Endowment awards need full time, and the New Hampshire Promise needs full time ⁠¹⁠³⁠⁵.

5. For short-term job training, call NH Works

   Bring proof of identity, work authorization, Selective Service registration and income or layoff status. Then choose a program on the Eligible Training Provider List with your counselor ⁠⁹⁠¹¹.

6. Ask about stacking

   If your program later becomes Workforce Pell-approved, Pell can be combined with a WIOA ITA ⁠¹²⁠¹⁵.

7. Reapply every year

   UNIQUE awards and the New Hampshire Promise are reviewed each year using a new FAFSA, so a late filing can cost you the grant even if you qualified the year before ⁠²⁠⁵.