SAVINGS & SCHOLARSHIPS: HOW GEORGIA RESIDENTS PAY FOR COLLEGE

Help them see the big picture

As you explore different schools and payment options with your child, help them consider what the next 10 years could look like and how that will impact their own financial future. Is their desired field of study likely to lead to a job that will provide enough income to pay back student loans? Will they need a secondary degree to make a good living in that field? How much might that cost?

Maybe your child wants to study art (Georgia is home to one of the country’s top art schools, after all). If they’re considering taking out student loans to pay for their undergrad, they need to realize how difficult it can be to establish oneself as an artist, and the amount of time it could take to earn a regular paycheck. Or maybe they want to teach art—this would require additional schooling, which would of course cost more money.

This is one reason I don’t recommend amassing substantial student loan debt—the reality is, most students don’t know what kind of job they’ll have when they graduate, and they can’t guarantee it’ll be something that pays well when it comes time to pay back the loans.

You want your kid to be in the right school for them and do something that makes them happy, but their long-term wellbeing is also dependent on the choices they make today.

Explore Scholarship Options Together

If you’ve lived in Georgia for any amount of time, you’ve likely heard about the state’s scholarship opportunities. The HOPE and Zell scholarships are the most well-known, and they make it incredibly affordable for qualifying students to attend Georgia schools. In fact, they’re one of the reasons getting into college in Georgia is so competitive (practically-free-ride scholarships, and our abundance of brilliant kiddos, of course).

To qualify for the HOPE Scholarship, your student must have at least a 3.0 GPA (officially calculated by the Georgia Student Finance Commission, or GSFC) and maintain it through college. They must also have an SAT score of at least 1160 or an ACT score of at least 26. HOPE used to cover 100% of a recipient’s tuition, but today the scholarship covers roughly $326 per credit hour with a maximum of 15 hours per semester. This equates to about $4,890 per semester, which is $39,120 over eight semesters. Given UGA’s in-state tuition cost of $11,440 per year ($45,760 for four years)—that’s an 85% opportunity no one wants to pass up.

The Zell Miller Scholarship (which is separate from HOPE) offers even more. Students can receive full tuition coverage with a 3.7 GPA (again calculated by the GSFC) and an SAT score of 1200 or an ACT score of 26. Similar to the HOPE Scholarship, the student must also maintain a GPA minimum in college (3.3 in this case).

There are other specifications for these scholarships (like being a Georgia resident), but the bottom line is this—students in Georgia have some great opportunities to pay for school. The downside is that it creates competition that makes it more difficult for residents to get accepted into Georgia schools. On the bright side, non-Georgia schools want access to our talent pool, so there are often merit-based scholarships available from out-of-state universities to compensate for the competition in state.

Each school will also offer their own scholarships, and even some large corporations (e.g., AT&T, Boston Scientific, etc.) offer scholarships to children of employees. So there are lots of opportunities available.

Granted, scholarships aren’t easy to get—your budget, your parenting philosophy, and where your child wants to go to school will all factor into how persistently you and your child pursue these opportunities. If you have a talented, intelligent kid who’s willing to put in the work, scholarships can be a great way to offset the cost of higher education.