GCSU students get big benefits from HOPE Scholarships

S tudents attending Georgia College & State University have received more than $481 million in scholarships and grants from HOPE since its inception in 1993, according to the Georgia Lottery Corporation.

Over 40,000 Georgia College & State University students have been the recipients of some 208,000 separate awards from programs such as the HOPE Scholarship, HOPE Grant and Zell Miller Scholarship.

"The HOPE scholarship has transformed higher education in Georgia in every way that the late Gov. Zell Miller envisioned, and beyond," said Georgia College president Cathy Cox. "HOPE is also vital partner in helping Georgia College drive economic impact and workforce development in Milledgeville and beyond."

The HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) Scholarship Program is funded by the Georgia Lottery for Education and administered by the Georgia Student Finance Commission.

"I have so many great things to say about the HOPE Scholarship," said Karlie Lucas, a Georgia College alumna who earned her B.A. in Mass Communication in 2021. Lucas said HOPE covered at least half of the tuition for her undergraduate degree.

"HOPE really pushed me to stay on top of my grades. So it helps in more ways than just financial," Lucas said. "It really gave me motivation."

On July 16, Gov. Brian Kemp announcedthat the HOPE Scholarship Program has awarded a total of over $15 billion to more than 2.1 million Georgia students since 1993.

"Georgians have more opportunity than ever before," said Gov. Kemp. "The HOPE Scholarship has been essential to that growth by preparing a generation of students for success. This milestone reminds us of that incredible impact and the lasting legacy of former Governor Zell Miller."

Class of 2024 Georgia College graduate Sicilia Reed earned the Zell Miller Scholarship.

"Zell helped me financially navigate college," Reed said. "From studying abroad to being able to walk away without debt, I'm very grateful that the scholarship helped me fulfill my academic goals in college."

According to a statement from the Georgia Lottery Corporation, the HOPE program has grown from awarding $21 million in its first year to awarding $841 million in scholarships and grants to Georgia students this year. HOPE Programs are offered at 79 Georgia public and private colleges and universities.

In Baldwin County specifically, more than 12,700 students received nearly $86 million in HOPE lottery dollars for higher education tuition since the program began.

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