HOPE Scholarship GPA Calculator — Georgia Requirements
Georgia recalculates your GPA from academic core courses to decide HOPE and Zell Miller eligibility.
Georgia's HOPE Scholarship and the higher tier Zell Miller Scholarship both use a GPA that the state recalculates. It is not the GPA your high school prints.
The state uses academic core subjects: English, math, science, social studies, and world language. Electives are excluded from the calculation even when they carry credit toward graduation.
Zell Miller sets a higher GPA bar than HOPE and adds a standardized test requirement. Students who fall short of Zell Miller can still qualify for HOPE, so it is worth checking both.
What Counts
| Courses counted | Academic core courses only, not electives |
| HOPE | Meet the state recalculated GPA minimum for the award |
| Zell Miller | Higher GPA threshold plus a qualifying test score |
| Rigor requirement | A set number of advanced academic courses is required |
| Keeping the award | GPA is checked again at set credit hour checkpoints in college |
Requirements change from year to year. Confirm the current rules with Georgia Student Finance Commission before you rely on them.
How to Calculate It
- 1Separate your academic core courses from your electives.
- 2Convert each core course grade to the state's scale, which uses numeric grades where available.
- 3Apply the weighting the state gives to approved advanced courses.
- 4Compare the result against the current HOPE and Zell Miller thresholds published by the Georgia Student Finance Commission.