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
A recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution online penned by Michele Nunn proposes adding a service component to the requirements obtaining a Georgia Hope Scholarship. The full text of the article is contained below. While I have no problem, personally, with Ms Nunn’s ideas for a service component, I do have an issue with targeting one scholarship program with this requirement while not also attaching a service component to the other scholarship and aid programs for students in the state of Georgia. Shouldn’t we also reward volunteer service for athletic scholarship recipients? What about President’s scholars? Shouldn’t a student receiving a Pell Grant be eligible for service as well? I’m all for students helping the community, but let’s allow all award, aid, grant, scholarship, athletic scholarship winners the same right/requirement/privilege/…
Are children of military parents stationed in Georgia eligible for the Hope Scholarship?
In general, the answer is yes. However, there are a few requirements that must be met before the student is eligible to receive a hope scholarship or tuition equalization grant. Continue reading
If you are a high school student or a parent of a high school student, the typical approach to the scholarship search process begins the second half of Junior year or perhaps the end of Senior year in high school. However, since most academic based scholarships, like the Hope Scholarship, look at the overall grade point average (GPA) earned on core high school classes, grades earned the first semester of Freshman year are just as important as grades earned the last semester of the Senior year. It is the wise student that prepares for the Hope Scholarship Requirements starting the first day of Freshman classes. In fact, since Freshman classes may be easier, from an academic point of view, than Junior and Senior level classes, it may be more important to concentrate on getting “A” results in the Freshman year. These results will act as a base line to shore up the GPA when the harder classes hit later in the high school career. Continue reading
Well, the 2011-2012 Georgia Legislature session is now history. Given that it is an election year and that last year brought about many Hope Scholarship Changes, the bills that were presented had no support to move forward as law. In other words, Georgia “punted” any legislation concerning the program. The good news is that the proposals putting financial need requirements on Hope were stopped, and the bad news is that no real solutions were found for the real problem with the mismatch between revenue and expense. Continue reading