Description
The Georgia Access Scholarship Fund began in the UGA Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) in the 2010-11 academic year in an effort to provide scholarship assistance to the neediest undergraduate students desiring to attend the University of Georgia. This is a need-based scholarship that provides critical funding for students who lack the financial resources to pay for educational costs at the University not covered by the HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarships, Federal Pell Grant and/or other student aid.
Process
Georgia residents who submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are automatically screened for eligibility and no additional application is necessary. Funding is limited so it is important to complete the FAFSA early. Priority consideration will be given to students who submit a FAFSA by December 15th of each year.
Amounts
Award amounts vary from year to year based on available funding, and continuing eligibility depends on the availability of funds.
Eligibility
Initial awards are made to incoming first-year freshman and are renewed as long as funding remains and renewal requirements are met. The scholarship is paid over 8 semesters (excluding summer) of undergraduate enrollment or until the completion of a bachelor’s degree, whichever occurs first.
Student(s) must:
- be a Georgia Resident, and
- be pursuing their first undergraduate bachelor’s degree, and
- be eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, and
- have an AGI between $1 and $49,999, and
- have no investment income or business / farm income, and
- maintain a minimum 2.0 Overall Grade Point Average (GPA), and
- maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Additionally, Dependent students must:
- Have answered “Yes” to Means-Tested Benefits Question (Federal Housing/Free or Reduced Lunch/Medicaid/SNAP/SSI/TANF/WIC).
Independent students must:
- Be considered Independent due to being an orphan / ward of the court, emancipated minor, in a legal guardianship, unaccompanied youth, or at risk of homelessness.