NEWS RELEASE

June 20, 2000

Alma Bowen 770-724-9018

Georgia No. 1 in student financial aid third year in row
78 percent of undergraduate students receive grants and scholarships

     ATLANTA - For the third consecutive year, Georgia is ranked No. 1 in the nation for providing financial aid to students who are seeking education beyond high school.

      A national survey report shows that 77.9 percent of Georgia's undergraduate students received state-financed grants and scholarships to attend Georgia public and private colleges and universities during the 1998-1999 academic year. The report attributes Georgia's high ranking to the HOPE Scholarship program funded by the Georgia Lottery for Education.

      New Mexico was ranked No. 2 at 52.7 percent.

      The National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs' (NASSGAP) 30th Annual Survey Report also shows that for the third consecutive year Georgia distributed more student financial aid not based on family income than any other state. Georgia distributed $220.9 million while the second ranked state, Florida, distributed $133.3 million.

      "We are very pleased that Georgia is doing more than any other state to make a college or technical institute education available and affordable to all Georgia students and their families," said Glenn Newsome, executive director of the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC), which administers the HOPE Scholarship and other state funded financial aid programs for education.

     The average full-time undergraduate student in Georgia received $1,236 in state-funded financial aid in 1998-1999, followed by New Jersey undergraduates at $1,092 and New York at $1,077. Only 11 states distributed more than $500 per student, and 14 states distributed an amount less than $100 per student. Alaska and South Dakota reported no state aid for students.

      The NASSGAP report and rankings are based entirely on state-funded financial aid. It does not include federal student aid, such as the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and Pell Grant programs.

      In fiscal 1999, the Georgia Student Finance Commission distributed more than $497.9 million in total financial assistance to 237,352 students. Individual programs helping students attend a college or technical institute ranged from small to very large - from the privately funded Charles McDaniel Teacher Scholarship Program with three recipients to HOPE Scholarships which had 141,264 recipients. Some of the other programs and the number of students assisted were:

     The Service Cancelable Loans gave the borrower the option of repaying the loan by working in a critical shortage field in Georgia or by serving in the Georgia National Guard. In addition to the student loans, the Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation, a division of the Georgia Student Finance Commission, guaranteed loans for 40,175 students.

      HOPE - Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally - provides tuition, mandatory fees and $300 per school year book allowance to Georgia students with a "B" average in a degree program at Georgia public colleges, universities and technical institutes. HOPE provides a $3,000 scholarship to students attending Georgia private colleges and universities.

      Technical institute students in a certificate or diploma program with less than a "B" average may receive HOPE funds if they maintain satisfactory academic progress.

      HOPE became available for Georgia students in September of 1993, and since that time 445,800 students have received more than $959 million in scholarships. More information about HOPE and other student financial assistance programs is available by calling GSFC, toll-free at 1-800-546-HOPE (4673), or visiting the Web site, www.gsfc.org.

                                                                       1998-1999 NASSGAP RANKINGS