Understanding the Zell Miller Scholarship: Eligibility and Requirements

The Zell Miller Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship program available to Georgia residents who have demonstrated high academic achievement. Funded by the Georgia Lottery for Education, it assists students with the educational costs of attending a postsecondary institution in Georgia.

Basic Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the Zell Miller Scholarship, you must meet several basic requirements:

Residency: You must be a resident of Georgia.
Citizenship: You must be a citizen or eligible non-citizen to receive funding. A student may be eligible for the HOPE/ Zell Miller Scholarship if he/she is permanent resident alien prior to the first day of the term he/she is seeking the HOPE/Zell Miller scholarship.
Degree-Seeking Program: You must be enrolled in a degree-seeking undergraduate program.
Satisfactory Academic Progress: You must be maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress.
No Default or Repayment Owed: You must not be in default or owe repayment on any federal or state aid.
Selective Service Registration: Male students must be registered for Selective Service if required.
Drug-Free Education Act Compliance: You must be in compliance with the Georgia Drug-Free Postsecondary Education Act of 1990.
No Prior Bachelor's Degree: Once you earn your first Bachelor’s degree you are no longer eligible for the HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarships.

Academic Requirements for Initial Eligibility

The Zell Miller Scholarship program requires students to meet specific academic eligibility requirements in addition to the basic requirements. Students are determined initially to be eligible for the Zell Miller Scholarship by the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC). To qualify, students must:

GPA: Graduate from high school with a minimum 3.70 cumulative GPA as calculated by the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC). If you graduate from a Georgia eligible high school, your high school is required to submit your transcript data to GSFC for the calculation of your HOPE GPA.
Test Scores: Earn a qualifying test score on a single national or state/district administration of the ACT or single national administration of the SAT prior to high school graduation or home study completion.
- Achieve an SAT score of 1200 OR an ACT score of 25. The ACT score requirement can change each year. The equivalent ACT composite score is based on the most recent concordance guide published by the College Board and ACT each January.

The high school or home study program must be accredited by an approved accrediting agency at the time of the student’s graduation or completion.

Retroactive Eligibility for Students from Ineligible High Schools or Unaccredited Home Study Programs

Students who graduated from an ineligible high school or completed an unaccredited home study with a minimum composite score of 26 on a national or state/district administration of the ACT or a minimum total test score of 1200 on a single national administration of the SAT, may receive the Zell Miller Scholarship retroactively if they earn a 3.3 postsecondary calculated HOPE GPA after attempting 30 semester or 45 quarter hours of college degree-level credit. The request for retroactive payment for home school students must be made before the last day of the term following the term in which 30 semester hours were attempted.

To verify Checkpoint History prior to requesting retroactive academic evaluation, students can sign in to their GAfutures account to access My College HOPE Profile. Students must complete an application with Georgia Student Finance Commission before their eligibility can be considered.

Maintaining Eligibility: HOPE GPA and Checkpoints

Zell Miller Scholarship Recipients must maintain a 3.30 Zell Miller Scholarship GPA. The Zell Miller Scholarship program requires students to meet academic eligibility requirements in addition to the basic requirements.

OSFA checks a student’s HOPE GPA at 30, 60, and 90 attempted hours, as well as every Spring semester. Students will be checked at the end of every spring term, even if they were not enrolled in classes that term. Note: Students who attended a non-HOPE eligible college or university may have a Checkpoint at the end of spring as they transfer into a HOPE eligible institution.

If you have lost Zell Miller Scholarship eligibility at a Checkpoint it may be possible for you to regain eligibility. Zell Miller Scholarship eligibility is gained by meeting academic eligibility requirements (calculated HOPE GPA and/or ACT/SAT scores) at the time of high school graduation or home study completion. If after high school, you attend an out of state or non-HOPE eligible college/university and later transfer to a HOPE eligible college/university all the hours taken at the out of state and non-HOPE eligible college/university count in the Attempted Hours and HOPE GPA calculation for HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship.

A HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarship recipient who has lost their Scholarship eligibility at two checkpoints cannot regain eligibility.

HOPE GPA Calculation: What Counts and What Doesn't

It’s important to understand what counts toward your HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship Attempted Hours and GPA:

Counts in Attempted Hours and GPA:

All hours attempted after high school graduation while in a degree program at a postsecondary institution, including hours taken at out-of-state and foreign schools.
Hours taken at prior institutions, even if UGA does not accept the credit and even if HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship did not pay for the courses.
Continuing education courses
Hours from which you withdraw
Courses you repeat, no matter how many times you attempt them.
Credits earned through military service if they were ever accepted by any postsecondary institution
Hours that you attempted that were not paid for by HOPE or the Zell Miller Scholarship

Does NOT count in Attempted Hours and GPA:

Hours taken while in high school such as AP, Joint Enrollment, IB, and Dual Enrollment.
Courses taken while enrolled in a certificate program if they were never accepted by any postsecondary institution
Hours that you drop during the drop/add period
Learning support classes taken after Fall 2011
Credits earned through military service if they were never accepted by any postsecondary institution
Grades earned through tests, examinations, and course challenges
Credits from internships
Credits from Co-Op Programs

You can view your current HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship eligible GPA on www.gafutures.org. Your HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship GPA may be different than your UGA GPA. Login to www.gafutures.org and click “My College HOPE Profile” on the left side menu for a one-page portal where you can see your college GPA for the HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship, view how many hours you have used, check your expiration date for the scholarship program and more. We encourage you to check this site often to ensure that your information is correct and that you are aware of your HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship GPA to maintain eligibility.

UGA grades on a +/- grading scale but the plusses and minuses do not count in your HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship GPA.

STEM Weighting

Effective Fall 2017, when calculating the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship postsecondary GPA, an additional weight of 0.5 will be added to grades of B, C, and D for approved degree level science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses taken at an eligible postsecondary institution Fall 2017 or later. You can find a link to the list of approved courses on the STEM Weighted Course Directory. This list changes annually, so be sure to look at the information for the correct year.

Impact of Grade Changes and Transfer Credit

The UGA Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) will award your HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarship based on the information on file at the time of awarding. If OSFA receives additional information such as new transcripts from other schools or grade changes at UGA that change your eligibility at any time you will be required to repay any HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarship funds you were awarded that you are no longer eligible for.

It is your responsibility to ensure UGA has all of your transcripts in a timely manner.

Expiration of Eligibility

Eligibility for the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships expires 10 years after the student’s high school graduation date for students who receive their first disbursement of the scholarship Summer semester 2019 or later.

Eligibility for the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships expires 7 years after the student’s high school graduation date for students who received their first disbursement of the scholarship Summer semester 2011 through Spring semester 2019.

Eligibility for students who received their first disbursement of the HOPE Scholarship Spring semester 2011 or earlier does not expire.

HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship Award Amounts

The initial HOPE Scholarship award amount assumes the maximum amount for which you are eligible each semester. The HOPE award amount will be reduced if you enroll in fewer than 15 hours. HOPE award amounts cannot be increased if you enroll in more than 15 hours. The HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship award amounts cannot exceed your total tuition charges for the semester.

UGA charges a flat rate tuition to undergraduate students. This means that regardless of the number of hours you take each semester, you are charged the same amount if you are enrolled in 1-6 hours and the same amount if you are enrolled in 7 hours or more. That amount does not change if you add or drop courses unless you cross the 6-7 hour threshold. However, because the HOPE Scholarship pays per credit hour, the amount of HOPE you can receive does change if you change your schedule. While going through drop/add, if you drop classes you may owe money for tuition after your HOPE amount is changed.

Residency Requirements

To meet residency requirements for the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships, you must be a resident of Georgia at the time of high school graduation. Students who are not Georgia residents when they graduate high school will not meet residency requirements for the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships until 24 months after they establish domicile in Georgia. If that date falls after the start of a semester, the student will not meet residency requirements for the scholarships until the following semester.

Applying for the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship

You can apply for HOPE and the Zell Miller Scholarship in two ways:

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Complete the Georgia Scholarship/Grant Application (GSFAPP) at www.gafutures.org.

Additional Information

The information provided here highlights the Program Regulations, so please visit www.gafutures.org for complete information.

If your final award notice from our office did not include the HOPE scholarship and you believe you should qualify, appeal directly to GSFC. If your final award notice from our office did not include the Zell Miller scholarship and you believe you should qualify, appeal directly to GSFC. Please submit a copy of your final transcript and ACT or SAT scores to the Georgia Student Finance Commission for evaluation. Upon approval by GSFC, the student should submit the approval letter to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA).

The HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship will pay for your online courses if you are meeting the general requirements to receive the award.

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