Thoughts on the lottery

[jwhited]

HOPE is a sham. I was researching alternative ways to fund my schooling whenever my GI Bill runs out, and I tried to get myself in the HOPE system "just in case." I was told by one of my school's advisors that last year the General Assembly decided to change the eligibility rules for HOPE such that if you are out of high school for 7 years, you would no longer be eligible to apply.

And yes, a lot of money is wasted on non-scholarship projects. Abuse is rampant. And the best they can do is deny 25+ year olds?

 

[saltyhawg]

The only time I have ever bought a ticket is at Christmas time for stocking stuffers. Everyone has a good time scratching the tickets to see what they've won. I hate to see people spending money on the tickets that they should be spending on their children's food. My older daughter went to UGA on the hope and graduated summa cum laude. I doubt my younger ones will be able to take advantage of the program because I fully expect it to be broke by the time they decide if they want to go to college. I agree that money should be spent on technical schools too. People shouldn't be forced to go to college that won't be happy there. I would never do that to my kids. I tell them to figure out what will make them happy and try to find a way to make a living doing it.

 

[Ballplayer]

I'd like to thank each and everyone who buys tickets for saving me many-many thousands of dollars on my 2 daughters college education, 5 yrs worth each with masters degree and now they are self-supported, hope everyone here also gets to reep the benifit. I'll always be a Zell Miller fan even though he was a Democrat.

 

[Laxguy59]

HOPE is a sham. I was researching alternative ways to fund my schooling whenever my GI Bill runs out, and I tried to get myself in the HOPE system "just in case." I was told by one of my school's advisors that last year the General Assembly decided to change the eligibility rules for HOPE such that if you are out of high school for 7 years, you would no longer be eligible to apply.

And yes, a lot of money is wasted on non-scholarship projects. Abuse is rampant. And the best they can do is deny 25+ year olds?

The money is Earmarked for Pre-K education and Hope Scholarships, by law it cannot be spent outside of that. Sorry your mad that you got cut out during the cuts, but the program had to tighten its belt and stop Regents from abusing the program. HOPE made Georgia universities much more competitive, but now I believe the program has acheived its goal as is threatening the detrement of the Universities it hopes to aid. Now that schools have moved up in national rankings due to a huge boost in applicants, the program now promotes a system of huge class size and massive freshman addmittance. Approximately 70% of students lose hope after Freshman year, so Universities who are reliant upon the Hope system are focusing only on bringing in huge numbers, but not keeping them around. Additionally, College is kept cheaper by the programs (Which helps middle class families), but since tuition stays close to the compensation of the program schools also have to maintain large class sizes, another draw back. It's time to shrink hope to the highest performers and pump the rest of the money in our struggling k-12 schools.

 

[TacticalTaco]

There is a movement right now to make HOPE only applicable to minorities.

HOW YOU GONNA GO TO COLLEGE IF YOU DON'T GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL TROLOLOLOLOOL

 

[drtybykr]

There is a movement right now to make HOPE only applicable to minorities.

HOW YOU GONNA GO TO COLLEGE IF YOU DON'T GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL TROLOLOLOLOOL

I saw on the news last night that a dem was complaining that blacks were only receiving 2% of the hope grants, and most of them were in 6 metro counties. The dems were proposing that the top 2 students in each school be issued the grants instead of those who worked the hardest.

 

[Laxguy59]

I saw on the news last night that a dem was complaining that blacks were only receiving 2% of the hope grants, and most of them were in 6 metro counties. The dems were proposing that the top 2 students in each school be issued the grants instead of those who worked the hardest.

The Zell Miller shcolar is awarded to Students who have over a 3.7 GPA and 1200 SAT out of 1600, some schools were unable to do this and since it was "unfair" they now award full scholarships to the top 2 students of each school regardless if they qualify. to be fair, students with parents who did not graduate college/highschool are more likely to do poorly in school

 

[unclear.six]

I prefer to set my money on fire.

 

[MMatt30]

And yes, a lot of money is wasted on non-scholarship projects. Abuse is rampant. And the best they can do is deny 25+ year olds?

Especially 25+ year olds that are veterans. That is crap.

HOPE paid for all four years of my schooling. I will always appreciate that.

 

[jwhited]

Especially 25+ year olds that are veterans.

I mean, I can't complain much because I already have college money.. But to arbitrarily age restrict it like that is severely limiting opportunities for those that need it most - people that went straight to work after high school and later discovered the need for higher education.