HOPE & Zell Miller Scholarship

Georgia Student Finance Commission offers a variety of state-funded scholarships. These include the HOPE Scholarship, Zell Miller Scholarship and Dual Enrollment, among others.

HOPE Scholarship (Helping Outstanding Students Educationally) is funded by the Georgia Lottery for Education. These scholarships are available to eligible Georgia residents who graduated from a HOPE-approved high school. Offers are made to graduating high school seniors with at least a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) as determined by Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC). HOPE recipients must also maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average while in college. Students who are not eligible out of high school can gain eligibility after attempting 30 semester hours as long as they meet all other eligibility requirements. HOPE awards are based on credit hours of enrollment. HOPE Scholarship rates can be found on the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) website. HOPE does not cover fees, books or housing. 

Zell Miller Scholarship, like HOPE is funded by the Georgia Lottery for education and is for eligible Georgia residents who graduated from a HOPE-approved high school. Graduating high school seniors must have at least a 3.7 GPA as determined by GSFC. In addition, students must have at least a 1200 SAT or 26 ACT score from one test sitting. Valedictorians and Salutatorians as reported to GSFC automatically qualify for the Zell Miller Scholarship. While in college, Zell Miller recipients must maintain a 3.3 cumulative grade point average. The Zell Miller Scholarship will cover full tuition for all eligible credit hours. It does not cover fees, books or housing.

What you should know about HOPE & Zell Miller:

  1. Students can track their academic eligibility information by logging onto the My GAfutures tab at https://gsfc.georgia.gov/
  2. Students must meet Georgia residency requirements. Students receiving a military out-of-state tuition waiver may be eligible. Please contact the Financial Aid Office for more information.
  3. Students' grade point average is reviewed at the end of each Spring Semester as well as after the 30th, 60th or 90th attempted semester hour. This includes courses attempted after high school graduation at all prior institutions attended as well as Augusta University.
  4. If you lose eligibility due to failure to maintain the required GPA, you are eligible to reapply at the 30th, 60th or 90th attempted semester hour. Students may only regain eligibility one time and will then no longer be able to reapply if they lose eligibility again. Students who lose Zell Miller eligibility may still receive HOPE Scholarship funds provided their GPA is at least 3.0.
  5. The HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships only pay up to 127 attempted semester hours or 127 paid hours, which includes prior institution attempted hours and Augusta University attempted hours. Attempted hours include all courses a student has passed, failed, repeated and/or withdrawn. Additionally there is a hard cap of 127 attempted/paid hours. Therefore students close to the cap will only receive payment for their remaining hours up to 127. 
  6. Students have 10 years from their high school/home school/GED completion date to use HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship funds. A student who received a HOPE Scholarship award prior to Summer term 2011 is not subject to the seven year limit. Students who serve in the military after high school graduation may receive an extension to this limit. More information. 
  7. All grades  for courses taken after high school graduation count in the GPA calculation. This includes the first attempt for any course you repeat. The Augusta University GPA will vary from the HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship GPA if courses were repeated. Therefore, the GPA on Pounce is not used for HOPE/Zell eligibility purposes. Students can view their HOPE GPA by logging onto https://gsfc.georgia.gov/.
  8. Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress as defined by our institutional policy. 


DUAL ENROLLMENT is for eligible high school and home school students who are receiving college credit at Augusta University. The offer covers the cost of tuition. Mandatory fees are waived and books are provided at no cost. For more information, please visit our dual enrollment page. 

For more information about these programs and for the full list of all state programs, please visit the https://gsfc.georgia.gov/.

HOW TO APPLY FOR HOPE

HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarship

To apply for the HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarship, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the GSFapps. Additionally, a HOPE Scholarship Request Form must be submitted if a student is not a current recipient or transferring from an out of state institution. Graduating high school seniors do not need to submit a request form. The Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) reports eligible students  as their final academic status is determined. Students should notify our office after July 15th if they believe they are eligible but have not yet been awarded. 

Students can track their eligibility by logging onto the My GAfutures tab at https://gsfc.georgia.gov/. Recent high school graduates should select the "My High School HOPE GPA" link. Current undergraduates should select the "My College HOPE Profile" link.

Dual Enrollment

To apply for Dual Enrollment, students must complete the application on the Georgia Student Finance Commission website and submit it to their high school. The high school will certify the application and send the student's information to Augusta University. 

Transient Students 

Transient students attending Augusta University must have their HOME institution electronically send a HOPE Transient Certificate of Eligibility to our office before we will be able to award funds. Depending upon the student's HOME institution's transient policy, the student may need to pay out of pocket and be reimbursed. The student's HOME institution must be a HOPE-approved institution in order to receive funds. 

Augusta University students attending elsewhere as a transient must submit the Intent for Transient Study to our office.