This is an easy recommendation to make but a hard recommendation to follow for most 14 year old high school Freshman. It takes a creating a strategy by the parents and the student, a desire to follow the strategy, along with the willingness and ability to prioritize homework, test study, projects, and reading over sports, video games, and watching TV. In other words, it takes hard work. However, the work is well rewarded. In the state of Georgia, there are two version of the Hope Scholarship — the Hope Scholarship and the Zell Miller Scholarship. The regular Hope awards a portion of tuition while the Zell Miller awards 100% of tuition to the student.

As an example, the Hope Scholarship maximum for the University of Georgia is $3181.50 per semester. Over the course of 8 semesters, or 4 full years of college, this adds up to a healthy $25,452. The Zell Miller paid $3461 in 2011. Assuming flat tuition, which will never happen, this equates to $27,688 over 8 semesters. It will actually be higher since the Zell Miller rises with tuition rates. Lets look at one way to value the Hope. Take $25,452 over 4 years in high school. This is $6363/year non-taxed. This would be equivalent to about $8000/year of taxed income. If we assume 5 academic classes a semester or 10 academic classes a year, this equates to about $800/academic class over each year in high school. The average class will have a combination of, perhaps, 6 tests and 10 homework or other graded assignments for a total of 16 gradable events giving an average of $800/16 or $50 per event. So, every homework assignment, every test, every project that your Freshman grumbles about, or you grumble about when helping, is worth about $50 to you. However, the Hope Scholarship Requirements are hard and fast. If you slack off on a test here or a project there, you run the risk of not just burning up a $50 opportunity on that assignment but a catastrophic loss of the whole $25,452 if you drop below the minimum GPA.

As a word of warning and just something to think about, the Hope Scholarship Requirements will probably become more difficult as time passes. This is due to the reduced funding from the Georgia lottery along with increasing tuition rates and more students utilizing in state colleges. In other words, the money is not keeping up with demand so either the funding needs to increase (probably not going to happen), or the demand needs to decrease. The only way to decrease demand is to tighten down on the requirements which means increasing the minimum GPA. So, work as hard as you can your Freshman year and keep it up throughout your tenure in high school. You may be rewarded well for your efforts.

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A HOPE-eligible high school or HOPE-eligible home study program must be accredited by one or more of the accrediting agencies list below.

If the high school or home study program is located in the state of Georgia:

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• Georgia Accrediting Commission;
• Georgia Association of Christian Schools;
• Association of Christian Schools International;
• Georgia Private School Accreditation Council; or
• Southern Association of Independent Colleges.

If the high school or home study program is located outside the state of Georgia:

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools;
• New England Association of Colleges and Schools;
• Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools;
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools;
• Northwest Accreditation Commission;
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges; or
• Alabama Independent School Association.

Transcript and Grading Requirement

A student who graduates from a HOPE-eligible high school or completes a HOPE-eligible home study program must earn a 3.00 cumulative GPA on all core coursework. The grade point average calculation for the HOPE Scholarship is unique (Georgia HOPE GPA calculation).

• If you graduate from a HOPE-eligible high school located in Georgia, your high school should automatically send your transcript data to the Georgia Student Finance Commission for calculation of your HOPE grade point average. This process is electronic.
• If you graduate from a HOPE-eligible high school located outside the state of Georgia or if you complete a HOPE-eligible home study program, you must have an official transcript sent to the Georgia Student Finance Commission. Your high school should be sure to include information on its accreditation, grading scale, and course or grade point average weighting. Also, be sure to include your current name, former name if applicable, date of birth, current mailing address, and phone number. Submit the official transcript and documentation to:Georgia Student Finance Commission
  2082 East Exchange Place, Suite 100
  Tucker, Georgia 30084

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