Georgia HB 324 has been signed into law. This removes the requirement that the FAFSA be completed by all Georgia resident students applying for HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship funds. Instead, we understand that GSFC will reinstitute the GSFAPPS application. We have provided this Hope Zell Miller Scholarship Update to try and provide the most recent information. Continue reading
When the legislature in the state of Georgia last changed the Hope Scholarship for the 2011-2012 school year, the Hope tuition coverage amount was set to 90% of the previous year’s (that would be 2010-2011) tuition rate. Along with this change, the Georgia state legislature removed the stipend for books and mandatory Hope qualified fees that were included in the award. The book fee support was set at $300/year and the mandatory Hope qualified fees which were different based on each individual college or university.
The Georgia Student Finance Commission website keeps a record of the total Georgia Hope Scholarship Grant and Award payment for the history of the program. You can see the effects of the changes in the program from the 2010-2011 fiscal year to the 2011-2012 fiscal year. The number of Hope recipients decreased by just over 20% and the total awards given decreased by 39%. Looked at another way, the average award went from $2920 to $2260.
Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship ProgramHOPE — Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally — is Georgia’s scholarship and grant program, formed in 1993, that rewards students with financial assistance in degree, diploma, and certificate programs at eligible Georgia public and private institutions. There are four Hope based programs: Hope Scholarship, Hope Grant, Zell Miller Scholarship, and Hope GED Grant.
All four HOPE programs require students to meet basic requirements. An eligible student must: