This article has been updated since its original publication.
The $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot that became the largest in U.S. history on Monday, Oct. 22, generated more than $34.7 million in proceeds for Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship and Pre-K programs, according to a Georgia Lottery Corporation Public Policy Coordinator Betsy Bradfield.
Bradfield said that the Georgia lottery funds Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s Pre-K Program.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for Georgians,” Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin said in a recent press release. “Our players are having a lot of fun and students across the state benefit with each Mega Millions and Powerball ticket purchased in Georgia.”
The HOPE award amount is set annually by the governor and general assembly for the following fiscal year after the Georgia Lottery Corporation transfers a percentage of lottery revenues into the Lottery for Education Account for HOPE and pre-K, Walt Rabon from the Georgia Student Finance Commission said. This transfer of revenues broke a record high in 2018’s fiscal year at $1.14 billion.
“When individuals see large lottery payouts, i.e., the recent Mega-Ball amount, the assumption may be that more funding will be provided to students. That may or may not be true,” Director of the Kennesaw State Office of Financial Aid Ron Day said.
The set award amount differs between schools based on tuition costs. Currently, HOPE covers approximately 80 percent of an undergraduate student’s tuition and Zell Miller covers 100 percent.
Day said that about 33 percent of currently registered KSU students are eligible for one of the HOPE Program scholarships.
The financial aid from HOPE appears to be “disproportional” across the state which benefits more students coming from higher-income level households than those of lower-income, according to the Red&Black, the University of Georgia’s student-run newspaper.
While UGA has a high average median income as well as a high percentage of students with HOPE, there are other factors that also influence this correlation.
Certain universities, such as UGA, have a more competitive admission process requiring students to have higher grades in order to be accepted. With HOPE recipients needing a 3.0 GPA and Zell Miller recipients a 3.70, these accepted students will most likely already be eligible for the scholarship, as the average high school GPA of the admitted freshman class at UGA was 3.86, according to College Simply.
According to data from College Calc, these schools also tend to have a higher cost of tuition which results in more students either coming from wealthier backgrounds or relying on financial aid.
Another factor influencing the average income level of HOPE recipients is the relationship between convictions and poverty levels.
While HOPE is a merit-based award, a student becomes ineligible for the award for one semester if they become convicted of possession of marijuana or a controlled substance, according to the Georgia Drug-Free Postsecondary Education Act of 1990.
“Mass incarceration and hyper-criminalization serve as major drivers of poverty; having a criminal record can present obstacles to employment, housing, public assistance, education, family reunification, building good credit, and more,” according to the research done by the Sentencing Project.
According to the Sentencing Project, 1 in 3 U.S. adults have been arrested by age 23 with 1 in 3 Americans having some type of criminal record, thus furthering the trend of fewer lower-income students receiving aid from HOPE.
Day said that income data is not a good indicator of eligibility, but rather a student’s academic performance.
“Many students are indeed prepared and properly prepped for the college classroom experience, however, many are not,” Day continued. “Thus they may become ineligible and regain or not regain HOPE Scholarship at all.”
Day also said that KSU’s 33 percent of HOPE eligible students is not an uncommon figure compared with peer schools.
“I have been at six different institutions, four of which are Georgia colleges, including KSU,” Day said. “Students at times do not quite understand the rigor associated with the collegiate academic experience compared to the high school coursework. That has been pretty consistent with all four.”
The newly elected governor will be responsible for the future of the HOPE Scholarship Program.
Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams and Republican candidate Brian Kemp have both expressed desires to expand the program and increase award amounts.
