Wednesday, July 16, 2003
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Wednesday, July 16, 2003 |
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Hope at 10 8,000 from Fayette awarded $38 million By J. FRANK LYNCH
More than 8,000 Fayette County students have taken advantage of $38 million in HOPE Scholarships in the 10 years since the program was started, according to information released this week by the Georgia Student Finance Commission. And despite dire predictions by state lawmakers that the popularity of the scholarships would soon outstrip revenue generated by the Georgia Lottery, the state reported this week that the games-of-chance raked in a record $2.6 billion over the past 12 months an annual increase of 6 percent. In hard dollars and cents, that represents an increase in the available HOPE scholarship funds of more than $25 million up from $726 million last year, state officials said. So for now, anyway, high school students who work to meet the requirements for HOPE essentially, maintain Georgia residency and earn a "B" grade point average upon graduation still have the full benefits of the program to look forward to. To those choosing to attend an in-state public college or university, it represents full tuition and fees, plus $150 per semester book allowance. Similar aid is given to students who attend private schools or technical colleges, and even to students who finished high school prior to 1993, when the scholarships were first offered, The program, the brainchild of Sen. Zell Miller during his first term as governor, has been a huge success, swelling the ranks of the state's universities and colleges to record numbers. It has been held up as an example by state lottery commissions around the country, and similar scholarship programs promised to voters in South Carolina and Tennessee helped pass lottery referendums in those states. Among Fayette County students, the past 10 years have seen 5,519 go on to HOPE-financed educations at one of the state's four-year institutions, collectively earning $29 million. Another 1,702 Fayette students have taken advantage of the money to go to technical schools, qualifying for $2.37 million in aid. Among those Fayette County students who chose to attend private, in-state colleges or universities, 1,170 of them were awarded $6.2 million in scholarship funds. Statewide, a whopping 697,752 students enrolled through the HOPE program in Georgia colleges during the past decade. The bottom line: $1.933 billion in tutition and fees was paid in full, all of it earned through Georgia Lottery games. Not surprisingly the state's flagship university far outpaces all other four-year istitutions in the state for HOPE receipients. Since 1993, the University Of Georgia in Athens has welcomed 50,264 students on lottery money, an investment of more than $348 million. Georgia Tech's 15,991 HOPE scholars have earned $99 million in 10 years, while nearby Clayton Collge and State University in Morrow has welcomed 10,561 students who qualified for $29 million in funds. Trade school students, many of them non-traditional college students, have benefited from the lottery funds as well. Among the top schools in the state for HOPE students is nearb y Griffin Technical College, which has seen 16,402 students receive $19.5 million in 10 years.
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