Scholarships
Scholarships are merit-based financial aid awards that do not normally need to be repaid. Scholarships may be offered by the state, the college itself, or outside institutions.
Common General Eligibility Requirements
All aid programs have general eligibility requirements that must be met in order to qualify for those specific aid funds. Common eligibility requirements for state aid programs are:
- Complete a financial aid application
- If you are interested in applying for both state and federal aid, then you would need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- If you are only interested in applying for state aid, then you may complete the Georgia Student Financial Aid Application (GSFAPP) instead. The GSFAPP does not require tax or income information and is valid for seven years if completed.
- You may visit How to Apply for Financial Aid for additional information on applying.
- The student must be a US citizen or an eligible non-citizen
- If you are an eligible non-citizen, you must submit a copy of your permanent resident card to the Financial Aid Office. You must be both a permanent resident of the United States for at least 24 months and a Georgia resident for 24 months after establishing permanent residency with the United States.
- The student must be a resident of Georgia for at least 24 months prior to starting classes if establishing residency. For students who are re-establishing residency, the residency must be reestablished for at least 12 months prior to the start of classes.
- If a student is a Male and born after 1960, he must be registered with the Selective Service.
- The student must not owe any repayments on previous grants or scholarships
- The student must not be in default on a federal loan
- The student cannot have a Bachelor’s Degree or higher
- The student must be taking classes within his/her program of study
- The student must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Brief descriptions of the types of scholarships and general requirements unique to their specific fund group are listed below. For state aid programs (ex: HOPE Scholarship, Zell Miller Scholarship) the regulations are subject to change. For complete details on state aid program regulations please visit GSFC.
HOPE Scholarship
HOPE stands for Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally and the HOPE Scholarship is a state-funded program awarded to qualifying students enrolled in a degree program who have not reached the Scholar Limits or Expiration of Eligibility. As of the 22-23 aid year, the Scholarship pays for 90% of the tuition costs for qualifying students (Note: the 90% is toward tuition cost only and does not include the $356 of fees).
Students graduating from High School with at least a 3.0 GPA, and going straight into a degree program, may be eligible for the HOPE Scholarship. Likewise, students who have completed 30, 60, or 90 semester hours that will count toward the degree hours, may also qualify for scholarship funds. The HOPE Scholarship Evaluation form may be completed to have your eligibility checked and may be accessed on our Forms page.
Recipients of the HOPE Scholarship must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA and will automatically be evaluated at the end of every spring semester as well as the 30th, 60th, and 90th semester hour checkpoints. If a student loses the HOPE Scholarship at any of the checkpoints, he/she may be able to regain it only one (1) time at the next checkpoint. *For students who lost the HOPE Scholarship and regained it prior to the fall semester of 2011 (when the HOPE guidelines were revised): If you lose the scholarship again, you may regain it one (1) time at the next GPA checkpoint.
Zell Miller Scholarship
Georgia’s Zell Miller Scholarship is available to Georgia residents who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement and are enrolled in a degree major. For qualifying students, the scholarship could pay 100% of the tuition rate as long as eligibility is maintained (Note: the tuition rate does not include the $356 of fees).
The Zell Miller Scholarship has a high level of academic requirements that must be met as an entering freshman (after high school graduation or home study completion) to qualify. A student who was not academically eligible for the Zell Miller Scholarship upon high school graduation or home study completion cannot gain eligibility while in college. A Zell Miller Scholarship recipient must graduate from high school with a minimum 3.70 GPA, combined with a minimum SAT score of 1200 on the math and reading portions, or a minimum composite ACT score of 26 in a single national test administration. For the full eligibility requirements, view Zell Miller Scholarship Eligibility. For award limits and expiration view Zell Miller Expiration.
Students receiving Zell Miller Scholarship will be evaluated at the end of each spring semester as well as the 30th, 60th, and 90th semester hour checkpoints to ensure they maintain at least a 3.3 calculated HOPE GPA. A student who loses the Zell Miller Scholarship at a checkpoint may possibly regain it at the next checkpoint (with the exception of the end of spring checkpoint). Eligibility may be regained only one time at an attempted hour's checkpoint.
Foundation Scholarships
Donations to the GNTC Foundation support areas of institutional need including scholarships to deserving students, equipment purchases, materials for the library, and staff development. Scholarships that are offered through GNTC’s Foundation and may be applied for through AwardSpring. All returning GNTC students who have completed one semester of study are encouraged to apply.
Additional Scholarships
Additional scholarship information can be found at these websites:
- FastWeb
- FinAid
- FinAid Smart Student Guide
- College Answer by SallieMae
- CollegeBoard
- NursingExplorer
- Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
- Student Aid