HOPE & Zell Miller Scholarship

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 Attempted hours include all courses a student has passed, failed, repeated and/or withdrawn.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. 

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.

*Note: The FAFSA is valid for Fall, Spring & Summer semesters of that academic year. It must be completed each year for consideration. Students who are admitted starting summer semester must complete two FAFSAs. For example, for Summer 2019, students should complete the 2018-2019 & 2019-2020 FAFSAs. 

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 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.