Nebraska Financial Aid: State Grants, Scholarships and Free College Programs

Start With the FAFSA

Every state aid program in Nebraska runs on top of the FAFSA. File it as early as possible, since some programs award funds until they run out. For the 2026-27 academic year, the priority deadline tied to the Nebraska Promise program was May 1, 2026, with follow-up financial aid paperwork due by June 1.

Nebraska Promise: Tuition-Free at University of Nebraska Campuses

The Nebraska Promise covers undergraduate tuition, up to 30 credit hours a year, at five University of Nebraska system campuses: UNL, UNO, UNK, UNMC and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture. It applies after your Pell Grant and other gift aid get counted, so it fills the remaining tuition gap rather than paying on top of aid you already have.

You qualify if your family's adjusted gross income is $65,000 or less, or if you qualify for a federal Pell Grant regardless of income. You must enroll full time, at least 12 credit hours a semester, and keep a 2.5 GPA to keep the benefit. The Promise pays tuition only. It does not cover fees, books, housing, food or transportation, so budget for those separately.

Apply for admission to your chosen NU campus and file the FAFSA. No separate Promise application exists. The system checks your FAFSA-reported income and Pell eligibility once you are admitted and enrolled.

Nebraska Opportunity Grant

The Nebraska Opportunity Grant (NOG) pays need-based aid to Nebraska residents attending any participating Nebraska postsecondary school, public or private, based on your Student Aid Index from the FAFSA. In 2024-25, the average award was $1,823, spread across 13,386 students for a total of about $24.4 million statewide.

Unlike the Promise, NOG runs through your school rather than a central state office. File the FAFSA, and check with your financial aid office to see if it requires an added institutional application. Recipients split across sectors: 46 percent at University of Nebraska campuses, 25 percent at community colleges, 19 percent at independent colleges, 8 percent at state colleges and 2 percent at private career schools.

Community College Gap Assistance Program

Nebraska's Gap Assistance Program targets students in career-training programs who do not qualify for a Pell Grant, either because the program runs too short for Pell rules or because it is non-credit. Your family income must sit at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.

The program covers tuition, direct training costs, required books and equipment, and fees like industry testing or background checks, for programs tied to in-demand fields such as health services, construction, agriculture, business management and software. It runs at all six Nebraska community colleges: Central, Metropolitan, Mid-Plains, Northeast, Southeast and Western Nebraska. Contact your community college's Gap Assistance coordinator directly, since application steps and deadlines vary by campus.

Other State Programs Worth Checking

The Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education also runs smaller targeted programs: the Access College Early (ACE) Scholarship for dual-credit students, the Attracting Excellence to Teaching Program and Enhancing Excellence in Teaching Program for future and current teachers, the Career-Readiness and Dual-Credit Education Grant, the Door to College Scholarship, and Nebraska Career Scholarships at community colleges and private colleges. Check eligibility and current award amounts directly on the commission's site, since terms shift by year.

Timeline to Stack Every Program

• File the FAFSA as soon as it opens in the fall before the year you plan to enroll.

• Apply to your chosen campus early to trigger Nebraska Promise and NOG review.

• Ask your financial aid office if it requires any institutional application beyond the FAFSA.

• If you are in a technical program at a community college, contact the Gap Assistance coordinator separately, since it works outside the standard FAFSA-linked review.

• Reapply every year. None of these programs carry over automatically without a new FAFSA.