Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announces a new needs-based scholarship program for low-income students. Photo by Maura Walz.
Students will receive $2,500 for up to four years to help cover the gap between other financial aid programs and the full cost of attendance.
Deal says the scholarship is designed to create a path to college for students who show promise but who might not otherwise attend, starting in middle school.
"And they will be required to sign a contract that they will remain crime, drug and behavior-issue free, that they will maintain a certain grade point average, and that they will meet with a volunteer mentor until they graduate from high school," Deal says.
Jackie Coleman, who will administer the program, says the goal is to make college accessible to promising students who might otherwise not be able to attend.
"Priority will be given to students who are first-generation college students, who have met the attendance requirements, behavior requirements, who have met a certain grade requirement as well," Coleman says.
The program will begin this year with 25 students from Bulloch, Douglas and Rabun counties. Other school districts will be invited to participate next year and administrators hope to expand the scholarship program statewide.
The scholarships will be paid for with private donations, including an initial grant of $250,000 from AT&T.
