Financial Aid
HOPE Scholarship Programs
Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally
HOPE Scholarship--Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally - is Georgia's unique program that rewards hard working Georgia high school students with matriculation scholarships in degree programs at any Georgia public college, university, technical institute, or eligible private institution.
What it pays for...
A HOPE Scholarship will pay your University tuition and $350 of your
mandatory university fees. If enrolled in at least six credit hours,
you will receive a $150 book allowance per semester, or $75 if enrolled in
less than six hours.
How to qualify...
To
qualify for HOPE, students must be a legal resident of the state of Georgia
or be considered a Georgia resident for purposes of in-state tuition at the
time of enrollment for the school term for which the scholarship is sought.
Students that graduated from high school in 1993 or later with a high school
core curriculum GPA of at least 3.0 for a college preparatory curriculum or
a 3.2 for a general or career/technical curriculum track may qualify as
incoming freshman for HOPE Scholarship.
Students who did not qualify for HOPE as incoming freshmen may still receive a HOPE Scholarship if they were a legal resident of Georgia at the time of enrollment for the school term for which the scholarship is sought, and have a 3.0 cumulative GPA after attempting 30, 60, or 90 semester hours of University course work.
If you graduated from high school before the program began in 1993 or if you are not academically eligible after high school graduation, you can still receive a HOPE Scholarship. To be eligible you must be a legal resident of Georgia and have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average after attempting 30, 60 or 90 semester hours of University course work. Check with your financial aid counselor regarding your eligibility.
How to apply...
If you qualify for HOPE, you must still apply for
it, even if you have received an eligibility certificate. There are
two methods to apply for HOPE: complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), or complete the GSFAPP. Complete the FAFSA if you
wish to have your eligibility for all federal grants and loans reviewed in
addition to your eligibility for HOPE. The GSFAPP is sufficient if you wish to receive HOPE only, and are not
interested in any other federal or state aid. See The Financial Aid Process: Six Easy Steps for more information
regarding the application process.
Keeping your HOPE alive...
HOPE eligibility is reviewed at the
end of every Spring semester (unless
you are a part time freshman--please click here to learn more) and at
the end of the semester in which 30, 60, or 90 semester hours have been
attempted. "Attempted hours" refers to all hours attempted in a degree
program at a postsecondary institution after high school graduation,
including classes which you may have dropped or failed as well as learning
support classes. A student who has previously lost the HOPE
scholarship may regain it at 60 and/or 90 hours. HOPE may not be regained at
the Spring semester checkpoint, unless that coincides with a 60 or 90 hour
checkpoint. Also, there is an attempted hours "cap" on the length of
HOPE scholarship payment (127 attempted hours or what your degree requires,
whichever is more). The deadline to receive HOPE for the current year
is the last day of class for the semester for which you are applying.
Contact your financial aid counselor for other requirements and further
information, (912) 681-5413. Additional restrictions may apply. The above is
based on the most recent information from the Georgia Student Finance
Commission and is subject to change.
HOPE CONSEQUENCES FOR NURSING AND MACC STUDENTS DEFERRING THEIR DEGREES Hope eligible RN-MSN students and MACC students who are deferring their bachelor's degrees are allowed up to 150 semester scholarship hours, while undergraduate students are only allowed 127 hours. If a deferred student has received HOPE beyond 127 hours and then decides to complete the RN-BSN program or the BBA in accounting program rather than RN-MSN or MBA in accounting, the student will be required to refund HOPE monies beyond the 127 allotted hours.
PROMISE TEACHER PROGRAM
Students planning to enter a teaching field
with at least a 3.0 GPA at the beginning of their junior or senior year may
receive $3,000 per year from the Promise Teacher Program.
For an application please visit the Promise Teacher Program website.
Funds are issued to resident and non-resident students, but students must teach in Georgia to cancel the indebtedness, or repay the funds to the state.
HOPE TEACHER
Eligibility requirements for HOPE Teacher are that you must be a Georgia resident who has
been regularly admitted to a teacher education program leading to
certification in a critical shortage field. Critical fields are defined each
year by the state. The following individuals may benefit from this program:
teachers without a Master's degree, teachers and individuals with a Master's
or Specialist degree or Georgians with a Bachelor's degree. The maximum
award for any individual seeking an advanced degree is $10,000. Awards are
based on the number of credit hours necessary to complete the program.
Students receive $125 per semester hour at an eligible semester system
institution. The scholarship can be forgiven by serving in the field for
which the scholarship was awarded at a Georgia public school at the
preschool, elementary, middle or high school level one academic year for
each $2500 awarded. If the student does not complete the program or meet the
service obligation, the scholarship funds received must be repaid with
interest as stated in the promissory note. For an application, please
visit the HOPE Teacher website.