Federal Aid
Grants are financial aid allowances that do not normally need to be repaid. GNTC offers both federally-funded grants and state-funded grants.
- Watch FATV: Six Things to Know About Grant Money
Types of Aid
Financial Aid
Grants are financial aid allowances that do not normally need to be repaid. GNTC offers both federally-funded grants and state-funded grants.
Although programs have their own unique requirements, there are common eligibility requirements that coincide. Below are the common requirements for federal aid programs.
The Federal Pell Grant is needs-based and provides assistance to low-income students seeking post-secondary education. Pell Grant amounts are determined by the student’s Estimated Family Contribution (EFC)/Student Aid Index (SAI), Cost Of Attendance (COA), the number of credit hours for which a student is enrolled for classes, and whether the student attends each semester within the academic year. If a student is enrolled in an associate’s degree, an eligible diploma, or eligible certificate programs, he/she may be eligible for the Federal Pell Grant.
The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) is a needs-based grant for undergraduate students with exceptional financial needs. Only students who receive both the federal Pell Grant and have the greatest financial need will receive the FSEOG first. Each participating school is allotted only a certain amount of funds each year from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid. Therefore, this is a type of “first-come-first-served” grant. Once the allotted amount of FSEOG funds has been awarded for the aid year, no additional FSEOG awards can be administered until the next fiscal year.
The Federal Work-Study Program (FWS) is a needs-based federally funded program that assists students with funding educational expenses by providing employment opportunities. Both on-campus and a few off-campus positions are offered to students. Since education is our primary goal for the student, work hours are generally flexible around the student’s academic schedule. The rate of pay for federal work-study is never less than minimum wage, and Work-Study students are paid twice a month for hours worked. In addition to the Common General Eligibility Requirements, a student hoping to qualify for the Federal Work-Study Program must be Pell-eligible with high financial need, apply for a work-study position, and complete all required documents for the background check. If interested in applying for a work-study position, please view Work-Study Positions.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Program (WIOA) is a federally funded work training program that assists students who meet both eligibility and suitability requirements. The eligible student will be learning new skills for tomorrow’s workforce. WIOA may pay a small travel stipend or assist with child care expenses to those who qualify. It may also pay for program required tuition, fees, books, supplies, and/or other related materials that fall within program limits. View our WIOA page for more information.
Grants are financial aid allowances that do not normally need to be repaid. GNTC offers both federally-funded grants and state-funded grants.
All aid programs have general eligibility requirements that must be met to qualify for those specific aid funds. Common eligibility requirements for state aid programs are:
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, and Zell Miller Scholarship) the regulations are subject to change. For complete details on state aid program regulations please visit GSFC. College & high school students may also track HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship Academic Eligibility online.
HOPE stands for Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally and is a state-funded program awarded to Georgia residents enrolled in a certificate or diploma program who maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative postsecondary GPA. As of the 24-25 aid year, the grant pays for 93.45% of the tuition costs only and does not include the $366 in fees. As long as eligibility is maintained, qualifying students may receive the HOPE Grant until they reach the Grant Award Limit.
The HOPE Career Grant is state-funded. The HOPE Career Grant is available to HOPE Grant-qualified students who enroll in select majors specifically aligned with industries in which there are more jobs available in Georgia than there are skilled workers to fill them. These industries have been identified as strategically important to the state’s economic growth. Please check the HOPE Career Grant for more information on eligible programs. For information on payment amounts, view Award Amounts for the HOPE Career Grant.
Georgia’s Zell Miller Grant is available to Georgia residents who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement. The grant pays 100% of the tuition rate for certificate and diploma-seeking students. The tuition rate does not include the $366 fee.
Zell Miller Grant follows the same guidelines as the HOPE Grant with the exception that the GPA requirement to qualify for the Zell Miller Grant is a 3.5 GPA. Students may receive Zell Miller Grant funds as long as they maintain eligibility requirements until they reach the Zell Miller Grant Award Limit.
The State of Georgia Post-Secondary Tuition Waiver Program exempts or waives payment of tuition and fees (and where applicable, on-campus housing) for students attending a technical college within the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG). Eligible students must be a youth or young adult under the age of 28 who is currently in foster care, has experienced foster care, or who was placed for adoption by the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.
Visit the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services page for more information.
Scholarships are merit-based financial aid awards that do not normally need to be repaid. The state, the college itself, or outside institutions may offer scholarships.
All aid programs have general eligibility requirements that must be met to qualify for those specific aid funds. Common eligibility requirements for state aid programs are:
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, and Zell Miller Scholarship) the regulations are subject to change. For complete details on state aid program regulations please visit GSFC. College & high school students may also track HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship Academic Eligibility online.
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 24-25 aid year, as long as a student maintains eligibility, the Scholarship pays for 93.45% of the tuition costs only and does not apply anything toward the $366 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 before 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.
Watch FATV: What is the Hope 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, as long as eligibility is maintained, the scholarship could pay 100% of the tuition rate only which does not include the $366 in 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 the 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 regain it at the next checkpoint (except for the end of the spring checkpoint). Eligibility may be regained only one time at an attempted hour’s checkpoint.
Watch FATV: What is the Zell Miller Scholarship?
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 are offered through GNTC’s Foundation and may be applied for through AwardSpring. Any incoming, current, or returning GNTC students are encouraged to apply. The scholarship application period will be advertised on the GNTC home page as well as social media sites. It usually opens just before registration for classes opens for the next term and remains open for about one month. View the Academic Calendars section of our Schedules & Calendars page to view when registration opens for a respective term.
Additional scholarship information can be found at these websites:
Notice: Beginning Fall 2025, GNTC will no longer be offering Federal Student Loans. In its place, we are partnering with Sallie Mae to offer loan options to our students. This will be a credit-based loan. Beyond tuition and fees, it can be used for books, technology, and living expenses. See the Sallie Mae Loans brochure for more information.
Federal Direct Student Loans are a low-interest form of financial aid to assist students with educational expenses not covered by other grants or scholarships, and who may have decided not to use the Payment Plan. Loans are provided through federal funds, which must be repaid after a student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment (6 credit hours).
While viewing the below videos, please know that we are a two-year, undergraduate technical college. Information regarding junior, senior, graduate, and professional students does not apply to our college as we are not a four-year college or university. We also do not participate in PLUS loans.
Students must maintain enrollment in at least 6 credit hours (within his/her program of study and classes coded non-repeat) throughout the term for each respective term they request & are approved for loan funds.
Once set up, the loan must be processed by the federal processing center before it can be applied as a credit toward tuition & fee charges. This processing timeframe can sometimes take 1-2 weeks.
Loans are split into 3 disbursements each term (except for the summer term in which it is split into 2 disbursements). Please note that the disbursement dates are not refund dates. The disbursement dates are the dates the funds are scheduled to disburse/release from the state and federal governments respectively to be sent to the college. If refunds are due from a disbursement after charges are deducted (including anything you may have used in the bookstore as credit), then you will need to allow up to 14 business days from the respective disbursement date for the funds to load in and any refund due from that portion to be processed out to Bank Mobile. View our Priority Dates page for more information regarding disbursements. To view more information regarding refunds, view our Refunds – BankMobile page.
Please note that if the Payment Plan through Nelnet is set up to cover costs while awaiting loan information to process, it can result in later refunds. This is because funds paid to Nelnet through the payment plan will not officially post (be sent) to our system until later in the term and at some point after the last payment is made to Nelnet. Before that point, the funds display as an electric third-party credit toward charges.
After graduating, dropping below 6 credit hours, or taking a break in enrollment borrowers will be required to complete the mandatory Exit Counseling. If dropping below 6 credit hours of enrollment within a term, you will become ineligible for any remaining disbursements and you will need to be prepared to pay any resulting balance.
Congress previously passed a law preventing further extension of the COVID Borrower Repayment Pause. Student loan interest resumed back on September 1, 2023, while payments restarted in October 2023.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness: If employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or non-profit organization, you might be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
As a consumer, you need to be aware that the U.S. Department of Education will post your Federal Direct Loan data on the NSLDS, which is accessible by federal student loan guarantee agencies, lenders, and institutions to which the Department of Education has authorized access to this data system.
Contact Financial Aid for more information.