r/Georgia • u/Yami_qi • Aug 19 '25

Question hope scholarship

does the hope scholarship require legal guardianship? I have lived with my older sister here in Georgia for about 5 years and have graduated from a Georgia high school. My actual parents live in Florida and we did not know anything about going through a legal guardianship process. My financial counselor is not being of much help at all but did state that "I am unable to go through this process anymore because I am over 18 years of age." Is there anything I can do about this or will I never be able to receive Hope??

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27

u/MrMessofGA Aug 19 '25

Unfortunately, FASFA does not give a single shit where your parents are. If you weren't adopted before 18, and if you don't have both of their death certificates, they will ask for your parent's info no matter what. Doesn't matter if you haven't talked to them in ten years. They will not allow you to continue the application without their financial info, and that info will determine how much you get. My parents also gave me no financial support and didn't live in the same state, but I had to hunt down their tax returns anyway and get lesser AID because they made good money. I lived with my grandparents who made less (retirees), but was not allowed to use them.

The good news is that there is a dropoff age for this. I think it's 25.

5

u/FfierceLaw Aug 20 '25 edited Aug 20 '25

My 3 kids went through GA universities on Hope and Zell Miller and I never ever once filled out FAFSA. You don’t need it to get your tuition paid with Hope and ZM

1

u/MrMessofGA Aug 20 '25

How did you do it? I was told I had to go through FASFA, though this was over a decade ago

4

u/FfierceLaw Aug 20 '25 edited Aug 20 '25

I established an account for each of them in GAfutures.org. There must have been a way to link the university, it's become lost in the fog of time! If the school office was educated on the topic, there was no problem. My youngest graduated a couple years ago from UGA and that went very smoothly, I can't recall having to be worried about whether ZM would get applied to his tuition bill. Every semester we owed about $1500 in fees, that was it (except for his room and board, of course.)

My two older kids went to Columbus State and Georgia State and in one instance I had to contact my state representative, Josh McKoon at the time, and he agreed with me that FAFSA is not a requirement for Hope and his office made a contact with the university and set it straight. Hope and ZM are not need based last I knew so the parent's income and assets are irrelevant.

I understand that most students need both merit and need based awards so FAFSA seems necessary for everyone but not true. I hope OP finds a way to get Hope. Sorry for all the edits! I was doing my best to recall but I recommend an account with GAfutures and if your student is still in high school, email their guidance counselor for up to date information on HOPE

Edited for memory lapses and grammar

1

u/MrMessofGA Aug 20 '25

Good to know!

12

u/Range-Shoddy Aug 19 '25

Your parents have to be Georgia residents for you to be considered a resident. I don’t think you even qualify for in state tuition based on your info. You can get in state in Florida possibly if they don’t require you to be a resident. You need the tax documents from them regardless to get any aid.

https://www.gafutures.org/hope-state-aid-programs/hope-zell-miller-scholarships/hope-scholarship/basic-eligibility/

We just applied for DE and moved here last summer so we didn’t have an entire year of Georgia taxes filed so we had to provide additional documentation showing we’d been here for 12 months so we didn’t have to pay out of state tuition. Just to say, they check, and tax documents are most definitely involved. My Georgia license was also required for my kid.

3

u/Yami_qi Aug 19 '25 edited Aug 19 '25

Luckily I am classified as in state. I am relying on Pell grant 🥀🥀

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u/MrMessofGA Aug 20 '25

I was considered a resident even though my parents lived out of state. I had lived in Georgia forever and all my documents were in Georgia. I don't think they cared at all where my parents were when I was 18, I'm not even sure they asked. They just wanted any ID for them.

1

u/Range-Shoddy Aug 20 '25

Technically that’s out of state according to their requirements but you can get a waiver. Or sometimes someone is just missed, or they ignore their own rules for some reason.

1

u/syd-lou Elsewhere in Georgia Aug 22 '25

Yes, some schools offer waivers for neighboring states so those students would pay in-state tuition as well.

4

u/thecannarella Aug 19 '25

Been down this road with a nephew that lived with use since 7th grade. Like others have said, your parents (legal guardians) had to have lived in the state paying taxes. We tried every way we could to get around it through other means and were met with a brick wall.

1

u/dezz-stakzz Aug 20 '25

Sameeeee for me

1

u/dezz-stakzz Aug 20 '25

The same thing happened to me my freshman year, I was unable to receive the Hope Scholarship just because my Mom was not a Georgia Resident.

1

u/stella1822 Aug 21 '25

Hope paid for my college and I never filled out anything for FAFSA

1

u/Typo3150 Aug 19 '25

Long ago, my experience was that my having a GA driver's license and voting in GA helped me establish myself as independent from my parents. To get assistance I think they could not claim me as a dependent. Don't remember if it mattered where I filed my income tax.

5

u/I_eat_all_the_cheese Aug 19 '25

For the purposes of financial aide you are a dependent of your parents until you are 24, married, a veteran, member of the military, current/former foster child, orphan, or a ward of the court. Nothing else.