Zell Miller Scholarship
High school students who graduate from eligible high schools as valedictorians or salutatorians or who graduate from eligible high schools with minimum cumulative grade point averages of 3.7 on a 4.0 scale may be eligible for the Zell Miller Scholarship. High school students also must obtain minimum combined scores of 1200 on the SAT critical reading and math or a composition scale of 26 on the ACT in order to receive consideration for the Zell Miller Scholarship. They must obtain these scores during a single administration of the SAT or ACT. Students who graduated from high school between 2007 and 2010 and met the requirements for the Zell Miller Scholarship at that time can gain eligibility for the scholarship if they have minimum cumulate grade point averages (CPGAs) of 3.3 at their most recent checkpoint.
Students who graduated from ineligible high schools or completed ineligible home study programs may become eligible for the Zell Miller Scholarship if they have minimum CGPAs of 3.3 after successfully completing 30 semester hours of coursework at the degree level. Students must have met Georgia residency requirements at the time they graduated from the ineligible high school or completed the ineligible home study program. Furthermore, they must have obtained the minimum ACT or SAT scores indicated in the preceding paragraph by the time they graduated from high school or completed home study programs.
The Zell Miller Scholarship covers 100 percent of tuition; however, it will not cover any fees. Students may receive Zell Miller Scholarship benefits through the school term in which they accumulate at least 30 semester hours unless they first reach an end-of-spring checkpoint or a three-term checkpoint.
Zell Miller scholars who were enrolled for 12 or more semester hours during at least one of their first three terms of enrollment at Athens Technical College must meet the minimum CGPA requirement at the spring checkpoint. Zell Miller scholars who were enrolled for less than 12 semester hours during each of their first three terms of enrollment must meet the minimum CGPA requirement at the third-term checkpoint. Zell Miller scholars who were enrolled in less than 12 hours during their first two terms of enrollment and were enrolled for 12 or more hours during their third term of enrollment must meet the minimum CGPA requirement at the point they accumulate 30 attempted hours of semester coursework or reaches the next end-of-spring checkpoint, whichever occurs first.
Zell Miller scholars must have minimum GPAs of 3.3 at each subsequent checkpoint to remain eligible for this scholarship program. Students may regain eligibility for the Zell Miller Scholarship if they have achieved minimum CGPAs of 3.3 at subsequent checkpoints. Students who lose their eligibility a second time cannot regain eligibility again. Contact the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@athenstech.edu for additional information.
Students who had received HOPE Scholarship benefits prior to Summer Quarter 2011 may receive Zell Miller Scholarship benefits until June 30, 2099, provided they continue to meet all other eligibility requirements. State policy specifies that a maximum of 15 semester hours per term will count toward the paid hours limit even if the actual number of hours taken for the term is greater than 15. The HOPE Scholarship will cover tuition according to the year's factor rate for the coursework required by their programs of study. The factor rate is set each year by the Georgia General Assembly.
The Zell Miller Scholarship will not cover the tuition associated with any required learning support courses students must take in order to gain regular admission status to the college provided the students meet the HOPE Grant eligibility requirements (see Provisional Admission).
The Financial Aid Office includes all attempted hours and corresponding grades earned for degree-level courses at Athens Technical College and all other colleges and universities in the calculation of cumulative grade point averages even if the director of registration and records does not accept those courses for transfer credit. Included in the calculation of cumulative grade point averages are all remedial courses completed prior to Fall Semester 2011; courses in which students formally withdraw; and courses in which students received I or IP grades, pass or fail grades, and satisfactory or unsatisfactory grades.
Students may receive Zell Miller Scholarship benefits for up to 127 semester hours of attempted coursework. Additionally, students may receive a combination of HOPE Scholarship and Zell Miller payments for a maximum of 127 semester hours of attempted coursework at colleges and universities in Georgia. Students who have earned a bachelor's degree from any college or university are ineligible to receive financial assistance.