Retroactive Eligibility information for the HOPE Scholarship
A student may qualify for the HOPE Scholarship retroactively if they graduate from an ineligible high school or complete a home study program in accordance with the requirements of Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) §20-2-690(c) and then attempt 30 semester or 45 quarter hours of college degree-level credit. Dual credit enrollment coursework do not count towards the attempted 30 semester or 45 quarter hours.
An ineligible high school or unaccredited home study program 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 or unaccredited home study program 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).
A student who graduated from an ineligible high school or completes a home study program in Georgia may receive the HOPE Scholarship retroactively for his or her freshman year of college, if he or she earns a 3.0 cumulative postsecondary grade point average after attempting 30 semester or 45 quarter hours of college degree-level credit.
If you meet the criteria listed above, complete and submit the HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship Eligibility Evaluation Request. 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 GSFAPPS or the current year FAFSA. The deadline to submit the application and all supporting documentation to Georgia Student Finance Commission is the last day of the semester or quarter immediately following the semester or quarter (excluding Summer term) in which you reached 30 semester or 45 quarter attempted hours (excluding joint or dual credit enrollment).
