Does a Hope Scholarship Pay for Summer Classes?

The HOPE scholarship is designed to assist eligible Georgia high school graduates and GED recipients in paying for tuition to attend colleges located within the state of Georgia. The program pays for up to 127 attempted or accumulated semester hours applied toward an undergraduate degree program. Students can receive scholarship funds for up to15 semester hours per term. Students enrolled under a guaranteed tuition plan can receive scholarship funding for up to 12 semester hours per term. The total amount of scholarship funds awarded cannot exceed the actual tuition charge.

All HOPE scholarship recipients must be Georgia residents. Students must graduate from an eligible Georgia high school with a 3.0 or better grade point average. Students graduating from ineligible high schools, or those who are home-schooled or earn GEDs, may become eligible for HOPE scholarship funds by scoring in the 85th percentile or above on the SAT or ACT test. Students may also qualify for HOPE scholarship funds by earning a 3.0 or better average after completing at least 45 quarter hours or at least 30 semester hours of college credit, even without ever completing high school or earning a GED. Students who first received HOPE scholarship funds before summer 2011 lose their eligibility June 30, 2015. Otherwise the eligibility period extends until June 30th of the seventh year after high school graduation or after students stop pursuing high school courses.

HOPE scholarship funds may be used to pay tuition for eligible classes for any term in which students are enrolled, including summer. Students need not be enrolled full-time. However, classes that are audited, that is, not taken for credit, may not be paid for with HOPE scholarship funds. If students enroll in summer courses that end after June 30th of their seventh year after graduation or leaving high school, HOPE scholarship funds may not be used to pay tuition for those classes.

The amount awarded through the HOPE scholarship program varies each year. The amount varies depending on the institutions students attend. The maximum amount each student may receive from the HOPE program is set each year by the Georgia General Assembly. Students who have previously earned baccalaureate degrees at any institution are not eligible for HOPE funds, even if they have never received HOPE scholarship funds.