By Kaylea Notarthomas & Rebecca Gentry
aThEENs 3410 Staff
There is still HOPE for Georgia teenagers who plan to attend college in state.
Despite general misconceptions about possible elimination of the HOPE scholarship due to the proposed budget cuts for the University System of Georgia (USG), the HOPE scholarship will still be available to all eligible prospective undergraduates. The scholarship will continue to cover tuition for students who attend a public university in Georgia. However, the effects of the budget cut may dissuade students from pursuing a degree in education.
The original budget proposal for the USG included a possible $300 million in cuts. According to the original budget proposal, the largest potential cut for the University of Georgia is the elimination of an estimated 543 faculty positions and a reduction in the incoming student body of 1500 students. This cut will supposedly save nearly $15 million. Job cuts at Georgia Tech could save the school a whopping $35 million dollars with 452 positions eliminated. The University of West Georgia could save $1.1 million by cutting two entire academic departments. The actual budget passed by the state House of Representatives on April 14 outlines $146 million in cuts. While effects may not be as extreme due to the reduced budget cuts, the USG is still under pressure to comply with the new budget. The HOPE scholarship, however, will remain untouched.
"The HOPE scholarship is still here, and the FAFSA process enables schools to award the students any federal aid for which they qualify," said Jay Mooney, associate director of the Office of Student Financial Aid at the University of Georgia, the flagship university of the USG.
Thus students who qualify for the HOPE scholarship will not have to worry about paying tuition for in-state public universities. "It will definitely affect my parents more than myself because they will be paying for whatever is not covered by HOPE. But for students who will be paying half or all of their tuition, I can't even imagine how hard of a hit they're going to take," said Lexi Deagen, 18, a senior at Clarke Central High School who will attend UGA in the fall.
For many families in Athens-Clarke County, the cost of attendance is the sole determinant of whether or not a student attends college. Without financial aid or scholarships, many students will be unable to pursue a higher-education degree. For example, 70 percent of students at Clarke Central High School qualify for free and reduced lunch according to data from the Clarke County School District.
“It will be a bigger strain on my family's budget,” said Rachel Grossman, 18, a senior at Clarke Central High School who was accepted to UGA, of the possibility of not receiving scholarship money.
Courtney Garmhaus, 20, a junior at UGA and alumnus of Oconee County High School, expressed that financial strain is a problem for Oconee students as well. "I would still be able to attend school, but it would be a lot harder. I wouldn't be able to be as involved in student groups as I am because I would have to work more," she said.
So what are the options available to students who are ineligible for the HOPE scholarship? Completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) each year is highly encouraged, according to Mooney. Students can be reviewed for Federal Pell Grant eligibility, and they can request a Federal Direct Loan in order to cover the cost of attendance. Federal funds are widely available for students who need them. In 2009 the Pell Grant alone awarded an estimated $25.3 billion to eligible students.
Pell Grant amounts are awarded based on several factors. These include expected family contribution (EFC), cost of attendance at the university, whether the student is attending full-time or part-time, and the program's length of study. If a student is not awarded a Pell Grant, taking out a loan is the most popular alternative option, but these funds do eventually have to be repaid.
These options do not apply solely to students wishing to attend a public university, but also private universities in the state. Some proposed cuts may discourage students from even applying to certain universities. "I know students this year who limited themselves to what schools they applied for because of tuition increases. Some of them even had to give up their dream school," said Deagen. One of the grants that may be cut is the Tuition Equalization Grant. All students at private universities in Georgia receive $750 from this grant. Because of this possible loss of funding, it is important that all students utilize resources such as FAFSA and online scholarship searches, according to Mooney.
"We encourage students to utilize the free scholarship search engines available on the web," said Mooney.
Students aspiring to be teachers may still find themselves searching for adequate funding to complete their degrees, however. The budget cut proposal may affect the amount of funding for two lottery-funded programs in Georgia, the PROMISE Teacher Scholarship Loan and the HOPE Teacher Scholarship Loan. The PROMISE loan is awarded to students who have committed to teach by their third year in college. The purpose of the loan is to attract more students to the profession of teaching. But fewer funds may lead to fewer education students.
And there are not many students interested in teaching in the first place. "Of the nearly 80 seniors I work with each year, typically one or two will express interest in pursuing a teaching career. Seniors in high school are often undecided about their futures and may change college majors. Obviously, the less scholarship money available overall, the fewer options students have," said Heidi Nibbelink, a guidance counselor at Clarke Central High School.
"My hope would be that our state would pride itself on growing one of the finest higher education programs in the country and making it available to as many residents as are willing to take part. Education is the key to being productive and thriving in our global society," she continued.
"They could be taking that money from so many other things but they're choosing to take it from education, and then to ask for so much, it's crazy!" said Aashka Chaudhari, 17, a junior at Clarke Central High School who wishes to attend UGA. Cuts to the HOPE Teacher Scholarship Loan extend these problems into graduate school.
Nonetheless, Mooney does not anticipate a decrease in enrollment in education students, especially because funding is still available through other means such as the Federal Direct Loans. "Although both are good programs, students can still borrow Federal Direct Loans, which also have teacher forgiveness provisions. I don't feel elimination for funding for these two programs would deter students from pursuing their undergraduate or graduate teaching degrees," he said.
aThEENs 3410 Staff
There is still HOPE for Georgia teenagers who plan to attend college in state.
Despite general misconceptions about possible elimination of the HOPE scholarship due to the proposed budget cuts for the University System of Georgia (USG), the HOPE scholarship will still be available to all eligible prospective undergraduates. The scholarship will continue to cover tuition for students who attend a public university in Georgia. However, the effects of the budget cut may dissuade students from pursuing a degree in education.
The original budget proposal for the USG included a possible $300 million in cuts. According to the original budget proposal, the largest potential cut for the University of Georgia is the elimination of an estimated 543 faculty positions and a reduction in the incoming student body of 1500 students. This cut will supposedly save nearly $15 million. Job cuts at Georgia Tech could save the school a whopping $35 million dollars with 452 positions eliminated. The University of West Georgia could save $1.1 million by cutting two entire academic departments. The actual budget passed by the state House of Representatives on April 14 outlines $146 million in cuts. While effects may not be as extreme due to the reduced budget cuts, the USG is still under pressure to comply with the new budget. The HOPE scholarship, however, will remain untouched.
"The HOPE scholarship is still here, and the FAFSA process enables schools to award the students any federal aid for which they qualify," said Jay Mooney, associate director of the Office of Student Financial Aid at the University of Georgia, the flagship university of the USG.
Thus students who qualify for the HOPE scholarship will not have to worry about paying tuition for in-state public universities. "It will definitely affect my parents more than myself because they will be paying for whatever is not covered by HOPE. But for students who will be paying half or all of their tuition, I can't even imagine how hard of a hit they're going to take," said Lexi Deagen, 18, a senior at Clarke Central High School who will attend UGA in the fall.
For many families in Athens-Clarke County, the cost of attendance is the sole determinant of whether or not a student attends college. Without financial aid or scholarships, many students will be unable to pursue a higher-education degree. For example, 70 percent of students at Clarke Central High School qualify for free and reduced lunch according to data from the Clarke County School District.
“It will be a bigger strain on my family's budget,” said Rachel Grossman, 18, a senior at Clarke Central High School who was accepted to UGA, of the possibility of not receiving scholarship money.
Courtney Garmhaus, 20, a junior at UGA and alumnus of Oconee County High School, expressed that financial strain is a problem for Oconee students as well. "I would still be able to attend school, but it would be a lot harder. I wouldn't be able to be as involved in student groups as I am because I would have to work more," she said.
So what are the options available to students who are ineligible for the HOPE scholarship? Completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) each year is highly encouraged, according to Mooney. Students can be reviewed for Federal Pell Grant eligibility, and they can request a Federal Direct Loan in order to cover the cost of attendance. Federal funds are widely available for students who need them. In 2009 the Pell Grant alone awarded an estimated $25.3 billion to eligible students.
Pell Grant amounts are awarded based on several factors. These include expected family contribution (EFC), cost of attendance at the university, whether the student is attending full-time or part-time, and the program's length of study. If a student is not awarded a Pell Grant, taking out a loan is the most popular alternative option, but these funds do eventually have to be repaid.
These options do not apply solely to students wishing to attend a public university, but also private universities in the state. Some proposed cuts may discourage students from even applying to certain universities. "I know students this year who limited themselves to what schools they applied for because of tuition increases. Some of them even had to give up their dream school," said Deagen. One of the grants that may be cut is the Tuition Equalization Grant. All students at private universities in Georgia receive $750 from this grant. Because of this possible loss of funding, it is important that all students utilize resources such as FAFSA and online scholarship searches, according to Mooney.
"We encourage students to utilize the free scholarship search engines available on the web," said Mooney.
Students aspiring to be teachers may still find themselves searching for adequate funding to complete their degrees, however. The budget cut proposal may affect the amount of funding for two lottery-funded programs in Georgia, the PROMISE Teacher Scholarship Loan and the HOPE Teacher Scholarship Loan. The PROMISE loan is awarded to students who have committed to teach by their third year in college. The purpose of the loan is to attract more students to the profession of teaching. But fewer funds may lead to fewer education students.
And there are not many students interested in teaching in the first place. "Of the nearly 80 seniors I work with each year, typically one or two will express interest in pursuing a teaching career. Seniors in high school are often undecided about their futures and may change college majors. Obviously, the less scholarship money available overall, the fewer options students have," said Heidi Nibbelink, a guidance counselor at Clarke Central High School.
"My hope would be that our state would pride itself on growing one of the finest higher education programs in the country and making it available to as many residents as are willing to take part. Education is the key to being productive and thriving in our global society," she continued.
"They could be taking that money from so many other things but they're choosing to take it from education, and then to ask for so much, it's crazy!" said Aashka Chaudhari, 17, a junior at Clarke Central High School who wishes to attend UGA. Cuts to the HOPE Teacher Scholarship Loan extend these problems into graduate school.
Nonetheless, Mooney does not anticipate a decrease in enrollment in education students, especially because funding is still available through other means such as the Federal Direct Loans. "Although both are good programs, students can still borrow Federal Direct Loans, which also have teacher forgiveness provisions. I don't feel elimination for funding for these two programs would deter students from pursuing their undergraduate or graduate teaching degrees," he said.
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