Maintaining Eligibility for the HOPE Scholarship

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GPA Checkpoints

Students are evaluated for their continued eligibility for the HOPE Scholarship program at various checkpoints throughout their academic career. At each checkpoint a cumulative 3.0 GPA must be earned, or the award will be lost.

• End-of-Spring Checkpoints
  Student GPAs will be checked at the end of every Spring term, even if they were not enrolled in classes that term. Exception: First-year students who are enrolled in less than 12 credit for their first three semesters will not be checked until the end of their third enrolled term.

• 30/60/90 Credit Hour Checkpoints
  Student GPAs will be checked at the end of the term in which they attempt 30/60/90 credit hours (respectively). At this checkpoint, students who previously lost eligibility to receive the HOPE Scholarship will be re-evaluated (see below).

Courses Included in the HOPE Calculations

All credit hours attempted after high school graduation are calculated when determining HOPE eligibility. This includes credit hours not accepted by Georgia Tech, credits hours not paid for by HOPE or credit hours taken outside the state of Georgia. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that Georgia Tech has transcripts from all institutes of higher learning (post high school graduation) in order for OSFA to accurately determine the student's HOPE eligibility.

Courses INCLUDED in the HOPE Calculations

• Pass / Fail credits are included in the attempted hours.

• Courses withdrawn (W) are included in the total attempted hours, but they are not included in the GPA calculations.

• Courses withdrawn while failing (WF) count as a grade of "F" in the cumulative GPA. Therefore, they are included in the attempted hours and cumulative GPA.

• Courses forgiven by the institution through the Grade Substitution Policy are also included in the GPA calculations.

• Learning support credits earned through Summer 2011 are included in the attempted hours and cumulative GPA.

Courses EXCLUDED from the HOPE Calculations

• Audited / CO-OP courses are not included in the HOPE attempted hours or HOPE GPA.

• Learning Support courses are not included in the HOPE attempted hours or HOPE GPA.

• AP, IB, and CLEP courses are not included in the HOPE attempted hours or HOPE GPA.

• Courses dropped during the Drop / Add period are not included in the HOPE attempted hours or HOPE GPA because they are erased from student records.

• Courses withdrawn due to serious medical issues may be forgiven and exempt from consideration in the HOPE calculations. An appeal must be sent to the Georgia Student Finance Commission.

• Courses withdrawn due to military activation are forgiven and are not included in the HOPE calculations.

Regaining Eligibility for the HOPE Scholarship

Students who lose eligibility to receive the HOPE Scholarship will be re-evaluated at the next 30/60/90 credit hour checkpoint. After a student has attempted 90 credits, he or she cannot be re-evaluated. The HOPE Scholarship can only be regained once.

Please note: Not having the scholarship and then earning it for the first time does not count as starting with a loss. Gains and losses start after a student earns HOPE for the first time.

Length of Scholarship Limits

The length of your HOPE Scholarship award depends on the following:

• Attempted-Hours Limit
  Scholarship eligibility ends when a student attempts 127 credit hours, even if HOPE funds did not pay for those credits. There are no exceptions covering extra hours needed for majors requiring additional hours, for dual-degree programs, or for second majors.

• Combined-Paid Hours Limit
  Scholarship eligibility ends when a student receives 127 credits of payment from any combination of the HOPE Scholarship, Zell Miller Scholarship, and HOPE Grant.

• Seven Year Limit
  A student who received their first HOPE Scholarship payment between the Summer 2011 and the Spring 2019 terms and meets all other eligibility requirements may receive the HOPE Scholarship until June 30 following the completion of the seventh full year after high school graduation, home study completion, or successful GED test. A student that served on active duty in the military following their date of high school graduation, or equivalent, may request that such active duty service time be added back to their seven years of eligibility.

• Ten Year Limit
  HOPE eligibility may end 10 years from the date of high school graduation for students who received their FIRST HOPE payment Summer 2019 term or later.