In Governor Deal's State of the State Speech on Jan. 11, Deal emphasized how important education was to the state of Georgia. However, in the recent Atlanta Journal Constitution article, "Hope's future may be more dire", the article states that the Hope Scholarship is likely to be an even bigger strain as more students stay in state and qualify.
When my brother graduated from high school in 2003, he received the scholarship in full plus book money. This was when the scholarship was booming, no one even mentioned the possibility of the scholarship dwindling for future students.
When I graduated in from high school in 2008, I also received the entire scholarship plus book money, but that has changed in the last few years. My dad said there was $10,000 difference from when my brother attended and graduated from college and when I attended and will graduate from college. And the dwindling Hope Scholarship is not helping.
I noticed signs of problems, which I am sure started sooner, during the summer before my sophomore year. I took classes at Georgia Perimeter College, a two year school around Atlanta, because it was cheaper. However, when I filled out a form to receive Hope for my class, the state would not allow it and I had to pay $450 for my summer class.
During my sophomore year of college, the University System of Georgia increased tuition at all Georgia colleges and universities; however, Hope did not increase with it. Since my scholarship did not increase, I had to come up with $400 out of pocket. Luckily, I was able to increase my student loan, but since my parents make a certain amount of money, I can only increase it so much. And I don't qualify for the Pell Grant.
My junior was okay, because I was awarded a scholarship which took care of the difference. However by my senior year, I capped my loan amount and since my GPA is not a 3.7 or above, I only received 90 percent of the scholarship and no book money. So I had to come up with $600 per semester ($1,200 for the year).
When I graduated from high school, I wanted to go to the school out-of-state. But my dad convinced me to stay in Georgia because of Hope; but now the scholarship is disappearing. I feel bad for the students who are coming behind me, because I am sure they are staying in Georgia for the same reason.
Listed below are the proposals from the article. I wish people/states prepared for rainy days. How can you emphasize education and do the opposite?
● Eliminate the SAT requirement of the Zell Miller program. Instead, graduating seniors in the top 3 percent of every high school in Georgia would automatically qualify. Democrats said the change would more evenly distribute the number of scholars throughout state, including at smaller, less expensive colleges.
● Change how technical college students receive grant money through the HOPE program. The technical grants are different from the scholarship and tend to benefit students who are older and likely supporting families of their own. Last year, changes meant technical students must for the first time maintain a 3.0 GPA. As a result, 4,200 technical college students lost HOPE.
● Reinstate a cap on family income for students to be eligible for HOPE. Such a cap existed when the program began, but was quickly lifted after the lottery proved financially successful.
● Add a student representative on the state Board of Regents, which oversees the University System of Georgia and sets tuition. Regents are appointed by the governor.
● Create legislative oversight of a new, $20 million student loan program. The program was started last year when lawmakers changed HOPE. The startup money was paid for with lottery revenue.
“As you go forward, there will be fewer and fewer people able to afford college,” Carter said. “You’ve got swaths of Georgia for whom HOPE vanishes and [the Zell Miller Scholarship] won’t help under the current system. That is a failure and an abandonment of the original principles that were sold to the state in order to tolerate the lottery.”
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