State Aid/HOPE Program

Hal J. Wilkinson

K12 Outreach Staff

Email: halw@gsfc.org

Phone: 678-495-8965

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HOPE Program

• General Eligibility Requirements
• Be a legal resident of Georgia
• Be registered with the Selective Service, if required
• Be in compliance with the Georgia Drug-Free Postsecondary Education Act of 1990
• Meet U.S. citizenship or eligible non-citizen requirements
• Be in good standing on all student loans and other financial aid programs
• Attend an eligible postsecondary institution
• Must be working toward the first undergraduate program

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HOPE Scholarship

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HOPE Program

HOPE

Grant

HOPE Career Grant

Zell Miller

Grant

HOPE GED

Grant

HOPE

Scholarship

Zell Miller

Scholarship

HOPE Scholarship Eligibility Requirements

• Students must pursue an associate or bachelor’s degree
• Graduate with a 3.0 high school HOPE GPA
• After high school graduation, may also be earned in college
• 4 academically rigorous course credits

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Academically Rigorous Courses

Courses must be on Academic Rigor Course List. This includes:

• Advanced Placement (AP)
• International Baccalaureate (IB)
• Dual Enrollment in degree level core subjects
• Advanced math
• Advanced science
• Foreign language II or higher

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Maintaining the HOPE Scholarship

Students must maintain 3.0 college HOPE GPA at all checkpoints including:

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• End of every Spring semester/quarter
• 30/45 attempted semester/quarter hours
• 60/90 attempted semester/quarter hours
• 90/135 attempted semester/quarter hours
• Three-Term Checkpoint, if enrolled less than full time for first three semesters/quarters

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Zell Miller Eligibility Requirements

Rigor Requirements and one of the following:

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Student Document Upload

• Students may upload documents for State Financial Aid Programs
• SAT test score reports may be uploaded
• Directions for SAT:
• Print test score report from College Board
• Student must sign, date, and write this statement on report: “This is a true and exact copy of the original score report.”
• Sign into GAfutures account and select Document Upload, on left side of page.
• Select Document type: SAT Scores
• Attach document file and select submit

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Submitting ACT Scores for Zell Miller

Steps for submitting ACT scores:

• Go to ACT.org and sign into student account
• Select ACT score report be sent to GSFC by entering recipient code: 2225
• ACT will then send GSFC and electronic file to update student’s record.

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Maintaining the Zell Miller Scholarship

• Students must maintain 3.3 college HOPE GPA at following checkpoints:

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• End of every Spring semester/quarter
• 30/45 attempted semester/quarter hours
• 60/90 attempted semester/quarter hours
• 90/135 attempted semester/quarter hours
• Three-Term Checkpoint, if enrolled less than full time for first three semesters/quarters

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HOPE & Zell Miller Scholarships

• Students lose eligibility due to one of the following:
• GPA requirement not met (3.0 for HOPE; 3.3 for Zell Miller)
• Reaching maximum attempted hours
• 127 semester
• 190 quarter
• Failing to use funds within ten years of high school graduation or equivalent
• Exception for active duty military service in United States Armed Forces
• Received bachelor’s or first professional degree

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HOPE Grant

Eligibility Requirements:

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• Enrolled in certificate or diploma program
• High school diploma/GED not required
• High school GPA and/or test scores not considered

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Maintaining the HOPE Grant

• Students must maintain a 2.0 college cumulative GPA at the following checkpoints:
• 30 HOPE Grant paid semester hours
• 60 HOPE Grant paid semester credit hours

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• Maximum 63 paid semester hours

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Zell Miller Grant

Eligibility Requirements:

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• Minimum 3.5 college cumulative GPA
• Checkpoints occur at the end of every term of enrollment
• Must be a HOPE Grant recipient initially
• May be paid retroactively for first term
• Maximum 63 combined paid hours Zell Miller and HOPE Grants

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Award Amounts

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HOPE Scholarship Change

HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship Updates

• HOPE Scholarship and Grant at TCSG and USG Institutions
• New – HOPE Award Rate set the award amount for all eligible public institutions to 100% of the prior year (FY 2023) standard undergraduate tuition rate

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• TCSG’s standard tuition rate remains at $100 per credit hour
• HOPE Scholarship and Grant will pay $100 per hour
• Zell Miller Scholarship & Grant will pay $100 per hour

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• USG’s Board of Regents has not set the standard undergraduate rates for their institutions yet

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• Award Charts will be made available once all info is available

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The scholarships award amounts have increased for private institutions in Georgia (2023-2024 Award Year):

• HOPE Scholarship award amount is 2,496 per semester (12-15 semester hours)
• Zell Miller award amount is 2,985 per semester (12-15 semester hours)

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Tuition Equalization Grant

Tuition Equalization Grant Regulations

New – Award amounts

Award rate increases

Per semester increase from $500 to $550

Per quarter increase from $333 to $366/$366/$367�(per term)

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HOPE and Zell Miller Grant

HOPE Career Grant in the HOPE Grant and Zell Miller Grant Regulations

Revision of award rates

Award rate for Basic Law Enforcement and Basic POST Certification certificate programs

• Maximum award amount increase from $3,500 to $3,750

Award rate for Commercial Truck Driving certificate programs

• Maximum award amount increase from $1,000 to $1,100

HOPE Career Grant

• HOPE Grant and Zell Miller Grant recipients eligible for HOPE Career Grant

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• Movie Production and Set Design
• Computer Programming
• Computer Technology
• Practical Nursing
• Early Childhood Care and Education
• Welding and Joining Technology
• Precision Manufacturing
• Certified Engineer Technician
• Commercial Truck Driving
• Health Sciences
• Diesel Equipment Technology
• Industrial Maintenance Technology
• Automotive
• Aviation
• Construction
• Electrical Line Worker
• Logistics

HOPE Career Grant

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Scholarships

Scholarship examples:

• Height
• Ethnicity
• Religious affiliation
• Gender
• Being a multiple (twin, triplet, etc.)
• Left-handed
• Video on social media

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Duct Tape Scholarship

• To enter the Duct Tape Scholarship, you and your partner must be legal residents and at least 14 years old. Either opposite sex or same sex partners may participate. You must attend a high school prom and have your photo taken before, during or after the prom in your attire made using duct tape.
• Costumes must be original and will be judged based on workmanship, originality, use of color, use of accessories, and use of duct tape.
• Photos of the 10 finalist couples will be posted online for online voting.
• For more information about the Duct Tape Scholarship Contest see, duckbrand.com

Tuition Assistance

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Job Opportunities & Scholarships

• - offers scholarships of $2000/term

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• - - offers $1600 tuition reimbursement

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• - offers $1,000 scholarships

Scholarship Search

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• www.fastweb.com

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• www.collegeboard.com

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• www.finaid.org/scholarships

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• UNIGO.COM

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Additional Scholarship Resources

FAFSA Updates/Reminders

• The 2025-2026 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) opens December 1st , 2024.
• New – Selective Service Registration is no longer a requirement for Federal Student Aid.
• Please note Selective Service is still a requirement for State Aid.
• It is recommended that FSA IDs are created at least 10 days before the student starts to complete the FAFSA.

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2025-26 FAFSA Simplification

• Parents without SSN, will have to create an FSA ID.
• Individuals without a social security number will be able to create an FSA ID.
• The signature page will no longer be available. Student will need to print the Summary Page.
• No more DRT, so students nor parents will be able to see OR change IRS data.
• All parents who have a tax return will need an FSA ID.
• Married – File Jointly: one (1) FSA ID
• Married – File Separately: two (2) FSA IDs

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2023-24 FAFSA Simplification

• EFC, now Student Aid Index (SAI)
• Pell Grant increased to $7,395
• FAFSA can open anytime between Dec. 1^st, 2024

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