Hope Scholarship Changes

Georgia Hope Scholarship Changes

The Hope Scholarship is now broken out into two programs based on GPA graduating from high school and while in college.  The Hope Scholarship now has a cap based on 90% of the 2010-2011 tuition rates.  This means that the award

amount for Hope will go down over time with respect to the tuition rates at each institution assuming that tuition rates rise each year.  The Zell Miller Scholarship does not have a cap.  Book fees are eliminated.  The hope scholarship changes are mandated by the state legislature of Georgia.  The hope scholarship changes are a result of economic changes that have resulted in a decrease in revenues from the Georgia lottery.  These revenues provide the funding for the awards tied to the program.  Along with funding decreases has been an increase in both the number of students staying in the state of Georgia for college and in tuition rates from the state colleges and universities.  With the tuition rates increasing at a rate higher than the inflation index along with more students applying and qualifying for the scholarship, funding is not keeping up with demand.  Therefore, the Georgia legislature stepped in to decrease the award levels and added additional requirements for students to be eligible for the highest award dollars.

The table below details the  Hope Scholarship Changes.  This reflects changes made for the 2011-2012 school year.  See this blog post for 2012 changes to hope scholarship.