HOPE Scholarship

Last updated
Georgia Governor Zell Miller was responsible for the creation for the HOPE Scholarship. Zell B Miller.jpg
Georgia Governor Zell Miller was responsible for the creation for the HOPE Scholarship.

The Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) Program is a scholarship and grant initiative established in Georgia in 1993. Under the guidance of then-Governor Zell Miller, the program was designed to provide financial aid to exceptional students pursuing degree, diploma, or certificate programs. HOPE is applicable at eligible public and private colleges and universities throughout Georgia, as well as public technical colleges. [1] HOPE is funded entirely by revenue from the Georgia Lottery and is administered by the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC). [2] [3]

Contents

As of 2024, HOPE encompasses six distinct scholarships and grants, each with its own unique eligibility criteria and requirements. These include the HOPE Career Grant, the HOPE Grant, the HOPE High School Equivalency Examination Grant Program, the HOPE Scholarship, the Zell Miller Grant, and the Zell Miller Scholarship. [4]

The HOPE Scholarship Program has awarded over $14 billion to more than 2.1 million Georgia students since its inception in 1993. [4] The Hope Scholarship regulations and requirements are codified in Georgia law and has undergone a number of changes by the Georgia Legislature. [5]

History

January 14, 1991: Zell Miller is inaugurated as Georgia's 79th governor. He introduces legislation before the General Assembly to establish a lottery. A statewide referendum must be passed to amend the Georgia Constitution to allow a lottery.

January 31, 1991: Resolution to put lottery amendment before voters passes the Georgia House 126-51 and is adopted by a 47–9 vote of the Georgia Senate.

November 3, 1992: Georgia voters pass the lottery amendment 1,146,340-1,050,674.

November 1992-August 1993: Governor Miller establishes three distinct and individually funded lottery programs: the HOPE Scholarship Program, a voluntary pre-kindergarten program for four-year-olds, and an instructional technology program.

June 29, 1993: The first Georgia Lottery ticket is sold, sparking a windfall of unprecedented lottery sales. Georgia's first year of sales brought in a national record of $1.13 billion, providing $360 million for the three education programs.

September 1, 1993: Georgia's first HOPE Scholarship is awarded to Matthew Miller of Snellville, Georgia to attend Gwinnett Technical College.

July 1, 1994: HOPE makes its first expansion to cover four rather than two years of tuition. In addition, mandatory fees and a $100 per quarter book allowance will be paid for the first time.

July 1, 1995:

July 11, 1995: President Clinton models his America's Hope program, a tax credit for the cost of two year of education beyond high school, after the success of Georgia's HOPE Program.

July 1, 1996: Private college students for the first time must earn and maintain a B average to receive HOPE. As a result, the previous $1,500 grant is changed to a $3,000 scholarship.

November 3, 1996: Entering freshmen high school students (Class of 2000) must now earn a B average in the core curriculum courses of English, math, social studies, foreign language and science to receive the HOPE Scholarship upon graduation.

July 1, 1997: Nontraditional students may now qualify for HOPE after their freshman or sophomore years.

November 18, 1997: The Georgia Student Finance Commission adopts a policy to allow home school students who maintain a B average during their first year in college to retroactively qualify for a HOPE Scholarship during the 1997–1998 school year.

April 1998: The National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP) releases a study that says Georgia is ranked Number One among the 50 states in academic-based student financial aid because of the HOPE Scholarship.

June 29, 1998: The Council on School Performance releases a study that concludes: "We found that recipients of Georgia's HOPE Scholarship are more likely to remain enrolled in college, have higher college grade point averages and have earned more credit hours than students without the scholarship."

September 1, 1998: Five years after its inception, the HOPE Scholarship has awarded 319,000 students more than $580 million.

November 3, 1998: Georgia voters elect to create a Constitutional amendment protecting the HOPE Scholarship Program from legislative and political tampering.

May 17, 1999: For the second year in a row, the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs ranked Georgia Number One among 50 states in academic-based student financial aid because of the HOPE Scholarship.

September 29, 1999: Yomaris Figueroa of McDonough, a freshman at Georgia State University in Atlanta, was congratulated by Governor Roy E. Barnes as Georgia's 400,000th HOPE Scholarship recipient.

March 2000: For the third year in a row, the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs ranked Georgia Number One among 50 states in academic-based student financial aid because of the HOPE Scholarship.

July 1, 2000: Students can receive the full benefits of Georgia's HOPE Scholarship and the federal Pell Grant making a college education for Georgia students even more affordable.

October 2000: Seven years after its inception, the HOPE Scholarship has more than 500,000 awards totaling $1 billion.

March 2001: For the fourth year in a row, the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs ranked Georgia Number One among 50 states in academic-based student financial aid because of the HOPE Scholarship.

April 2002: HOPE reaches new milestones: More than 600,000 students have received HOPE awards totaling more than $1.5 billion. Also, thanks to HOPE, for the fifth year in a row Georgia leads the nation in providing academic-based financial aid.

March 2003: The Georgia General Assembly created the Improvement of the HOPE Scholarship Joint Study Commission. The purpose of the commission was to identify and recommend actions to ensure adequate funding of the HOPE program for years to come.

April 2003: For the sixth year in a row, the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs ranked Georgia Number One among 50 states in academic-based student financial aid because of the HOPE Scholarship.

January 2004: After meeting throughout the latter half of 2003, the HOPE Study Commission made its recommendations in January 2004.

May 2004: House Bill 1325 was signed into law, creating the most significant changes in the HOPE program since its beginning.

January 2007: The HOPE program reaches the milestone of assisting 1 million individual recipients.

May 2007: The new HOPE Scholarship high school grade point average calculation and transcript exchange project was implemented, in accordance with House Bill 1325 passed in 2004.

July 2008: The HOPE Scholarship award amount for students attending private colleges was increased from $3,000 per academic year to $3,500 per academic year. Senate Bill 492 was implemented, which increased the Georgia residency requirement for the HOPE Scholarship to 24 months for students who did not graduate from high school as a Georgia resident. In addition, changes were made to the treatment of post-secondary coursework taken while in high school, for purposes of the HOPE Scholarship and HOPE Grant eligibility. House Bill 152 was implemented, which allows home study student, ineligible high school graduates, and GED recipients to gain HOPE Scholarship eligibility by scoring in the 85th percentile on the SAT/ACT. [6]

March 2011: Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, together with state legislative leaders, pushed a new law into effect, raising the GPA requirements for HOPE and eliminating payments for books and mandatory fees. The new HOPE Scholarship, or HOPE Lite, will now be based on Lottery revenue. The new scholarship within HOPE, the Zell Miller Scholarship, will cover 100% of tuition for those students who graduate with a 3.7 HOPE GPA and receive a score of 1200 (CR+M) on the SAT or a 26 ACT Composite at public colleges ($4,000 at private colleges), and maintain a 3.3 GPA while in college. Books and fees have also been eliminated for this scholarship as well. These changes also added additional academic rigor requirements to take effect in stages starting in 2015 and going through 2017. These requirements define the type and number of specific core academic courses required for graduation eligibility for the Hope Scholarship, including raising the required GPA for students to be eligible for the HOPE Grant to 3.0. [7] Although these changes have taken some of the strain off of Georgia's finances, it has also resulted in about 1/4th of all Technical College students dropping out of college and increases in the accrued debt of those who remained. [8]

March 2013: State Representative Stacey Evans introduces House Bill 54 to reverse some of the changes to the HOPE Scholarship program and, she claimed, help more Georgia students realize their dream and the original purpose of the HOPE program. [9] Her ideas were incorporated into House Bill 372 which lowered the required GPA for HOPE Grants (the HOPE Scholarship for Technical Schools) back to the original 2.0 and bringing back 5,000 students into Technical College in the first year alone. [10]

Award history

Fiscal YearHOPE RecipientsHOPE Awards
1993–199442,796$21.4 million
1994–199598,399$83.7 million
1995–1996122,977$133.7 million
1996–1997128,354$153.2 million
1997–1998136,662$173.2 million
1998–1999141,102$189.0 million
1999–2000148,194$208.6 million
2000–2001169,173$276.6 million
2001–2002195,860$322.6 million
2002–2003212,631$361.7 million
2003–2004222,551$405.8 million
2004–2005222,269$427.0 million
2005–2006212,581$436.0 million
2006–2007207,326$452.0 million
2007–2008202,344$459.5 million
2008–2009216,165$522.6 million
2009–2010248,342$640.6 million
2010–2011256,462$748.1 million
2011-201257,203$53.1 million

[6]

Awards

The money provided to HOPE Scholars varies and depends on the type of institution as well as the student's specific enrollment. [11]

Public institutions

HOPE Award Rate multiplied by the number of hours (up to 15 hours)

Private institutions

Full-time students: $2,496 per semester or $1,664 per quarter

Half-time students: $1,248 per semester or $832 per quarter

Application procedures

To apply for the HOPE Scholarship, students must follow the registration demands of the school they chose.

Public colleges, universities, and technical colleges

Students have two options when applying for the HOPE Scholarship:

1) Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or,

2) Complete the online Georgia Student Finance Application (GSFAPP)

Note: The FAFSA must be completed each year. The GSFAPP remains valid for 10 years. [12]

Application Deadline: The application deadline is the last day of the school term or a student's withdrawal date, whichever occurs first.

Recommendation: Submit the annual FAFSA or the GSFAPP as early as possible; the earlier you apply, the earlier your college can determine your eligibility and awards.

Note: Additional college-specific application and deadline requirements may be required. Check with your postsecondary institution.

Criticism

Non-traditional students were not grandfathered in with the 2011 changes. [13] This has led to allegations of age discrimination [14] because students who had not received the grant before Summer 2011 and had graduated from high school more than seven years past were disqualified based on a new "seven year" criteria that has in subsequent years been modified. [15] [16]

Similar scholarship lotteries in other states

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scholarship</span> Financial aid for a students education

A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need, research experience or specific professional experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bright Futures Scholarship Program</span> Florida scholarship program

Bright Futures is a scholarship program in the state of Florida. It is funded by the Florida Lottery and was first started in 1997.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form completed by current and prospective college students in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid.

Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the pursuit of post-secondary education. Financial aid is available from federal and state governments, educational institutions, and private organizations. It can be awarded in the form of grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships. In order to apply for federal financial aid, students must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The Tuition Assistance Program is a financial aid program for students who are New York State residents and who are attending a post-secondary educational institution in New York. It is a program of the Higher Education Services Corporation which is a New York State Agency.

Need-blind admission in the United States refers to a college admission policy that does not take into account an applicant's financial status when deciding whether to accept them. This approach typically results in a higher percentage of accepted students who require financial assistance and requires the institution to have a substantial endowment or other funding sources to support the policy. Institutions that participated in an antitrust exemption granted by Congress were required by law to be need-blind until September 30, 2022.

An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United States and to a certain extent in Canada, but in the vast majority of countries in the world they are rare or non-existent.

A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with exceptional financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled in certain post-baccalaureate programs, through participating institutions. Originally known as a Basic Educational Opportunity Grant, it was renamed in 1980 in honor of Democratic U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island. A Pell Grant is generally considered the foundation of a student's financial aid package, to which other forms of aid are added. The Federal Pell Grant program is administered by the United States Department of Education, which determines the student's financial need and through it, the student's Pell eligibility. The U.S. Department of Education uses a standard formula to evaluate financial information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for determining the student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

The National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant was a need based federal grant that was awarded to undergraduate students in their third and fourth year of undergraduate studies. The National SMART grant was introduced to help maintain the edge that United States has in the fields of Science and Technology. Only specific majors were eligible for the SMART grant, the complete list is given below.

Federal Student Aid (FSA), an office of the U.S. Department of Education, is the largest provider of student financial aid in the United States. Federal Student Aid provides student financial assistance in the form of grants, loans, and work-study funds. FSA is a Performance-Based Organization, and was the first PBO to be established in the US government.

Cal Grant is a financial aid program administrated by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) providing aid to California undergraduates, vocational training students, and those in teacher certification programs. Cal Grants are the largest source of California state funded student financial aid.

The Hope credit, provided by 26 U.S.C. § 25A(b), was available to taxpayers who have incurred expenses related to the first two years of post-secondary education. For this credit to be claimed by a taxpayer, the student must attend school on at least a part-time basis. The credit can be claimed for education expenses incurred by the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or the taxpayer's dependent. Starting with tax year 2009, the Hope credit had been supplanted by the more generous American Opportunity Tax Credit.

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs is a federal grant program administered by the United States Department of Education. It was established in Chapter 2 of the 1998 amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965 which awarded financial assistance to students and colleges from the federal government. GEAR UP was authored by Congressman Chaka Fattah and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in October, 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in Georgia (U.S. state)</span>

Education consists of public and private schools in the U.S. state of Georgia, including the University System of Georgia, Technical College System of Georgia, private colleges, and secondary and primary schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South College</span> Private college in Nashville, Tennessee, US

South College is a private for-profit university with its main campus in Knoxville, Tennessee. It offers more than 100 programs and concentrations, including certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, educational specialist, and doctoral programs.

A scholarship is defined as a grant or payment made to support a student's education, awarded on the basis of academic or other distinction. "Scholarship" has a different meaning in the United States than it does in other countries, with the partial exception of Canada. Outside the U.S., scholarship is any type of monetary award to fund education. In the United States, the only country with a national system that determines a student's financial need, and where universities are far more expensive than in other countries, a scholarship is money for which the student must qualify in some way, and the term "grant" - an award the student receives because of financial need - is used for what in other countries are called scholarships.

Bridget Terry Long is an American economist is the 12th Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Saris Professor of Education and Economics at Harvard University. She is an economist whose research focuses on college access and success. Long is a Faculty Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the National Academy of Education.

The Delaware Student Excellence Equals Degree Program Scholarship is intended to provide free college tuition to Delaware residents seeking to earn an Associate degree at in-state colleges Delaware Tech and the University of Delaware. Any Delaware high school graduate after 2006 is eligible to apply given certain criteria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hispanic Scholarship Fund</span> Award

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) is a nonprofit organization aiming to prepare Hispanic young people to become professionals in the future. The HSF was founded in 1975 with the purpose to identify students of Latino or Hispanic origin and assisting them in attending college and graduate school. The HSF selects 10,000 designated scholars each year and assists them in finding a university, help to source financing, search for internships, and with HSF's business partnerships, place them in jobs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirley Miller (Georgia)</span> American education advocate and teacher

Shirley Miller is a retired American educator who served as the first lady of Georgia from 1991 to 1999 as the wife of the 79th governor of Georgia, Zell Miller. Her initiatives as first lady were to improve the quality of education within the state, including helping adults in literacy to earn their GED.

References

  1. ↑ "HOPE Scholarship". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  2. ↑ "About GSFC | Georgia Student Finance Commission". gsfc.georgia.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  3. ↑ Chen, Victor (May 2009). "THE GEORGIA HOPE SCHOLARSHIP" (PDF). Policy Perspective. 11: 1 – via Research Gate.
  4. 1 2 "HOPE Programs | Georgia Student Finance Commission". gsfc.georgia.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  5. ↑ "Legislation". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
  6. 1 2 "Scholarship & Grant Award History". Georgia Student Finance Commission. 2011-07-18. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  7. ↑ "Georgia's Hope Scholarship is the standard for other states merit scholarship programs". Archived from the original on 2015-02-17. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
  8. ↑ Butrymowicz, Sarah; Kolodner, Meredith. "$500M in HOPE reserves idle while students drop out, drown in loans". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  9. ↑ "HB 54". www.legis.ga.gov. Georgia General Assembly. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  10. ↑ "HB 372". www.legis.ga.gov. Georgia General Assembly. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  11. ↑ "Initial Academic Eligibility for the HOPE Scholarship".
  12. ↑ "Basic Eligibility" . Retrieved 2024-03-15. (for more information)
  13. ↑ "HOPE scholarship discriminates against non-traditional students". Six Mile Post.
  14. ↑ "New HOPE Scholarship Rules Hit Older Students | www.wsbtv.com". www.wsbtv.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22.
  15. ↑ "HOPE Seven Year Eligibility Limit | Georgia Student Finance Commission". www.gafutures.org. Archived from the original on 2018-12-27.
  16. ↑ "House Bill 326" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-20. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  17. ↑ "Tennessee Hope Scholarship".
  18. ↑ "South Carolina Education Lottery".
  19. ↑ "Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship Program". Archived from the original on 2010-08-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.