Gov. Nathan Deal announced that the HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) Scholarship Program has surpassed $10 billion in total financial aid assistance awarded to Georgia students. The HOPE Program awards scholarships to students to attend eligible postsecondary institutions located in Georgia.
 
“The HOPE Scholarship Program is one of our most effective investments for developing Georgia’s growing workforce,” said Deal. “For more than 25 years, HOPE has set our state apart by offering one of the most generous state scholarships for students, allowing us to keep our brightest students in Georgia so that they will thrive here after finishing their education. With more than $10 billion awarded, HOPE has already made it possible for 1.8 million students to pursue higher education. When I took office, the HOPE Scholarship and Grant programs faced looming bankruptcy. In response, the General Assembly and I worked together to reform and save one of the country’s most generous scholarship programs for our students well into the future.”
 
Supported by the Georgia Lottery Corp., the HOPE Scholarship Program was created in 1993 under the leadership of Gov. Zell B. Miller. As the first scholarship of its kind, HOPE is one of the most successful merit-based aid programs in the country and has served as a model for other state and federal financial aid programs. Twenty-five years after its inception, the HOPE Program offers financial aid assistance to any Georgia student, regardless of his or her field of study, through six subprograms: the HOPE Scholarship, the Zell Miller Scholarship, the HOPE Grant, the Zell Miller Grant, the HOPE Career Grant and the HOPE GED Grant.
 
“We are so excited that we reached this milestone during the program’s 25th anniversary and we are incredibly grateful to Gov. Deal and members of the Georgia General Assembly who have worked tirelessly to preserve this program for not only today’s students but for generations of students to come,” said Georgia Student Finance Commission Interim President Caylee Noggle. “Thanks to their leadership and our education partners statewide, Georgia’s HOPE Program has provided postsecondary education opportunities for 1.8 million students.”