Scholarship Eligibility and Requirements

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following criteria to apply for the Match the Promise program:

Student must be a beneficiary of a Texas Tuition Promise Fund^® contract.
Student must be a Texas resident and a dependent ^[1] for tax purposes of a Texas resident.
Student must be in grade three through nine at the time of application.
Student must have a family income ^[2] of $120,000 or less.

Don’t have a Promise Fund contract?

Families applying for the Match the Promise program can also enroll in the Promise Fund during the Match the Promise application period (Sept. 1 through Dec. 31) if they haven't already done so.

Have an existing Promise Fund contract?

Promise Fund lump-sum plans

If your child's Promise Fund contract is a lump-sum plan, the contract will automatically be relabeled as a pay-as-you-go plan so that you can make additional tuition unit purchases as needed with the same account number.

Promise Fund pay-as-you-go plans

If your child's Promise Fund contract is a pay-as-you-go plan, you can use this contract to meet the contribution requirements for the Match the Promise program.

Promise Fund installment plans

Not paid in full: If your child's Promise Fund contract is an installment plan that is not paid in full, you can use this contract to meet the contribution requirements for the Match the Promise program.
Paid in full: If your child's Promise Fund contract is an installment plan that is paid in full, you will need to open a new contract to make additional tuition unit purchases as needed.

Who is not eligible?

Family members of the following individuals are ineligible to apply for the Match the Promise program: a Texas Match the Promise Foundation℠ Board director, Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board member, Comptroller employee and any substantial contributor to the Foundation. Family members include parents, stepparents, brothers, sisters, stepbrothers, stepsisters, grandparents (including great), step-grandparents, grandchildren, children (includes children's spouses), stepchildren, foster children, foster parents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, first cousins, step-aunts, step-uncles or step-cousins.

Program Requirements

Student Career Essay

Students must write an essay about a career that interests them and submit the essay with the application. The essay must be 200 to 300 words and include:

information about the career the student is interested in and why
the education or training needed for the career
opportunities for this type of work in the future; and
the steps the student took to learn about the career

Please see the Matching Scholarship and Tuition Grant Description and Application Instructions for details about the career essay. Instructions for your child are included in the Student Career Essay Instructions.

Grade Documentation

You will need to submit a copy of your child's report card or transcript for the entire school year most recently completed with the application. The copy must show the student's name, school and grade during that school year.

Minimum $50 Contribution Requirement

Approved scholarship recipients must receive at least $50 in contributions to their Promise Fund contract during the current Promise Fund sales period ^[3] (Sept. 1 through Aug. 31) to receive a scholarship or grant.

Although Match the Promise applications must be submitted by Dec. 31, approved recipients will have until the end of the current Promise Fund sales period on Aug. 31 to meet the contribution requirements for the scholarship program.

^[1] The parent or legal guardian who claimed the child as a dependent on his or her most recently filed federal income tax return must submit the application.
^[2] Family income is defined as the combined adjusted gross income of a child's parents or legal guardians, as reported on the most recently filed federal income tax return(s). In cases of divorce, the income of the parent or guardian claiming the child as a dependent on his or her income tax return and the income of the spouse of that parent or guardian, if any, are used to determine family income.
^[3] The Promise Fund sales period is the time frame in which the current tuition prices are valid, and when, once enrolled, you can purchase additional tuition units.

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