Eligibility Requirements - State Grants/Scholarships

Students must meet all citizenship and state residency requirements of Georgia's Hope program.
U.S. Citizenship or Eligible Non-Citizenship (Alien Registration card issue date must be at least one year prior to registration) is required.
Georgia residency of at least one year prior to registration, for students who graduated from high school/got their GED in the state, is required.
Georgia residency of at least two years prior to registration, for students who graduated from high school/got their GED outside the state, is required.
Selective Service registration is required for STATE financial aid eligibility. Males who failed to register who can demonstrate extenuating circumstances that resulted in their failure to register may file an appeal with the GAFutures.
Compliance with the Georgia Drug Free Postsecondary Act is required.
Default or owing a refund on a Federal Title IV Educational Loan or Grant disqualifies students from Hope funding.
There is no income, age, or high school GPA or graduation limitation for diploma or certificate seeking students.
Georgia's Technical Colleges do not require full time enrollment.
Students with a bachelor's degree or higher will not be eligible for HOPE.

Specific Eligibility Requirements for HOPE Grant/Scholarship

Students who wish to be considered for federal (Pell) and state (HOPE) student aid should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa.

Students who do not wish to be considered for federal student aid should complete an application for HOPE Grant/Scholarship funding. Click here for instructions for completing the HOPE application. This application may be completed electronically at: https://www.gafutures.org/.

HOPE will pay a portion of tuition. The remaining tuition, fees and books are not covered by HOPE.

HOPE Grant recipients must maintain a 2.0 cumulative grade point average at the check points of 30 and 60 credit hours. (HOPE Grant Limits and Checkpoints)

HOPE Grant recipients must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress to maintain eligibility.

The HOPE Grant will pay a portion of the tuition for certificate and diploma level courses that are a part of the student's program of study, including learning support. The only exceptions are degree level courses that have direct and specific correlation to required courses in the student's diploma or certificate program. For example, English 1101 (degree level course) can be taken in place of English 1010 (diploma level course), if approved by the institution. This student must meet the cut-off scores required for the degree level English or Math. The HOPE Grant will not cover degree level courses used to fulfill general elective requirements for a certificate or a diploma program.

HOPE Scholarship student must request HOPE Scholarship evaluation from the school.

HOPE Scholarship will not pay for Learning Support courses. The HOPE Scholarship will pay a portion of the tuition for degree level courses that are a part of the student's program of study.

HOPE Scholarship recipients must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average at all tier checkpoints (30, 60, 90 semester hours) and at the end of each spring semester check.

HOPE Scholarship recipients must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress to maintain eligibility.