HOPE Scholarship Eligibility Based on Test Scores
A student who graduated from an ineligible high school, completed an unaccredited home study program or earned a GED diploma, may qualify for the HOPE Scholarship as an entering college freshman based on ACT or SAT scores earned prior to high school graduation. The student must score in or above the 75th percentile on a single national or state/district administration of the ACT or single national administration of the SAT.
A minimum composite score of 24 is required for the ACT. A score of 1160 or higher is required if the SAT was taken on or after March 1, 2016 (1720 if test taken before March 1, 2016). To have your SAT scores sent to Georgia Student Finance Commission for scholarship eligibility evaluation, a request may be submitted to College Board or call 866.630.9305. Select Georgia Student Finance’s score recipient code of ‘0472’ so that the report will be sent directly to the Georgia Student Finance Commission office. The request for an ACT score report may be submitted to ACT or call 319.337.1270. The ACT report should be mailed to the student’s home address and the unopened report should then be sent to Georgia Student Finance Commission at the address below.
An ineligible high school is a school in the state of Georgia that is not accredited by one of the agencies listed below:
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
- Georgia Accrediting Commission
- Georgia Association of Christian Schools
- Association of Christian Schools International
- Georgia Private School Accreditation Council
- Southern Association of Independent Schools
If the high school is located outside the state of Georgia and is not accredited by one of the agencies listed below:
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges
- Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
- North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
- Northwest Accreditation Commission
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges
- Alabama Independent School Association
- Southern Association of Independent Schools
For purposes of the HOPE Scholarship Program, a home study program is an arrangement whereby a school-aged child is involved in a course of study in which instruction is carried out at the direction of the parent rather than in a traditional classroom setting and is governed by and operating in accordance with the requirements of O.C.G.A. §20-2-690(c).
If you meet the criteria listed above, complete and submit the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship Eligibility Evaluation Request form. Send the completed application, official transcripts and required documents as one package to the following address:
Georgia Student Finance Commission
Program Administration
2082 East Exchange Place
Tucker, Georgia 30084
You must also complete an application for the HOPE Scholarship by submitting a Georgia Student Finance Application (GSFAPPS) or the current year FAFSA. The deadline to submit the GSFAPPS or FAFSA is the last day of the semester or quarter that the student is seeking scholarship funds.
