Financial Aid Programs
Georgia's private colleges are affordable to students of all family incomes. Over three-quarters of GFIC's private colleges have annual tuition of less than $14,000. Nearly 70 percent of the full-time undergraduate students at Georgia's independent institutions receive some form of financial aid.
Through a combination of aid programs -- scholarships, grants, loans and work study -- most students and their parents find that attending a private college or university within the state can be as affordable as attending a public institution, and that the value of a private, liberal arts education is well worth any difference in cost.
Types of Aid
Georgia's HOPE Scholarship is available to qualified students attending any one of Georgia's 25 independent colleges and universities. The colleges offer other scholarships on the basis of academic merit or leadership skills.
Funded by proceeds from the Georgia Lottery for Education, the HOPE scholarship rewards high-achieving high school students with financial assistance in degree, diploma or certificate programs at any eligible private or public college, university or technical institute in Georgia. Students at private colleges and universities in Georgia are eligible to receive $3,500 per year from HOPE towards the cost of tuition and other education-related costs. Eligible part-time students may receive $1,500 if they take a minimum of six (6) credit hours.
The HOPE PROMISE Teacher Scholarship is also funded by the Georgia Lottery for Education. PROMISE awards high-achieving students who agree to teach at a public school in Georgia upon graduation from college. Students may receive up to $3,000 per year beginning their junior year and continuing through their senior year in college.
The Georgia Tuition Equalization Grant is designed to promote private higher education in Georgia by providing grant aid to Georgia residents who attend eligible private colleges and universities in Georgia, and to provide aid to Georgia residents who live near state borders and wish to attend certain four-year public colleges out of state. The Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges and its member colleges work to promote increases in the TEG by the legislature.
Governor's Scholarship, administered by The Georgia Student Finance Commission, is offered to high school seniors who are valedictorians, salutatorians or STAR students of their class, or who have otherwise demonstrated exceptional achievement by being named Georgia scholars.
The Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship program provides scholarships to students who are the first members of their immediate families to go to college. GFIC's 25 private colleges and universities participate in the program, as well as more than 350 other institutions in 30 other states. Since its inception in 1986, The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded more than $14 million in scholarships to First Generation students.
UPS Scholarships: The Atlanta-based UPS Foundation has been a major national supporter of the Foundation for Independent Higher Education (FIHE). Through the UPS Educational Endowment Fund, which is held and administered by FIHE, 639 private institutions received UPS scholarships.
In Georgia, each of the member campuses receives a UPS scholarship through GFIC for a student with financial need and academic merit. In 2007-2008, the scholarship award was $2,850. Since its inception, the UPS Educational Endowment Fund has generated nearly $41 million in scholarship support.<br><br>
Additional funds have been budgeted through the UPS National Venture Fund and the First Opportunity Partners Venture Fund for matching grants to support innovative programs designed to improve educational services for private college students and to encourage collaboration among colleges.
The federal government subsidizes other grant programs on the basis of financial need, including the Federal Pell Grant and the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant. As with scholarships, grants are awards that do not need to be repaid.
The Federal Perkins Loan and the subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Stafford loans are three of the most popular loan programs for college students. Loans are awarded on the basis of need and must be repaid with interest. Subsidized loans are preferable, since the government pays interest while the student is enrolled in school.
The Federal Work-Study Program provides jobs for undergraduate and graduate students who display financial need. Through work study, students accept employment positions on and off campus and apply their earnings to college expenses.
To qualify for any need-based aid and most scholarships, you will need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is available online or in your high school guidance counselor's office.
