After reading a multiple tweets, retweets, and a few articles about Georgia’s potential loss of HOPE; it seems the recession has forced Georgia’s legislature and it’s governor to cut back the spending associated with the program through which $5.6 billion in educational support has been granted to 1.3 million Georgia students statewide.
A few possible ways to reduce program spending are: decreasing the tuition percentage granted (currently 100%), raising the GPA cut-off (currently a B average), and/or introducing an economic need threshold.
Does this make sense? Seem unfair?
What ideas do you have?
Never heard of HOPE?
Cliff Notes:
- Started in 1993
- Originally funded by the Georgia State Lottery
- Copied by other states
- Improved SAT scores in Georgia (per New York Times writer Kim Severson)
- As many as two-thirds of Hope students grades slip so much that they no longer qualify
Is the HOPE scholarship program (or a hope-like program) available in your area?
Here are some states that offer similar programs:
- Alaska Scholars Award
- Florida Bright Futures Scholarship
- Georgia HOPE Scholarship Program
- Kentucky Educational Excellence
- Louisiana Tuition Opportunity Program for Students
- Maryland HOPE Scholarship
- Michigan Merit Award Scholarship
- Mississippi Eminent Scholars Program
- Missouri Higher Education Academic Scholarship Program
- Nevada Millennium Scholarship Program
- New Mexico Lottery Success Scholarship
- Oklahoma Higher Access Learning Program
- South Carolina HOPE Scholarship Program
- Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS)
- West Virginia Promise Program
There are also higher-ed related tax credits that help to offset the costs of higher education by reducing income tax. So, basically the Hope Credit, American opportunity credit and the lifetime learning credit are different than those scholarship programs listed above.
Please feel free to tag on anything I missed and as always COMMENTS WELCOMED…
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