By fall 2014, the HOPE scholarship is expected to only pay about half of tuition.

And though many University students may have already graduated by then, planning for the lack of funds begins now for some freshmen.

“My dad’s a single business owner and pays for my college tuition by himself, so now, if HOPE is cut in half, my family is going to be hit really hard,” said Ryan Sichelstiel, a freshman speech communications major from Perry.

According to the Governor’s budget report, an additional $20.5 million will be allocated to the HOPE scholarship for public schools in fiscal year 2012 in order to maintain the regular HOPE awards.

However, after this, the lottery reserve will reach the lowest level the state will allow.

Cedric Johnson, a policy analyst for the FY 13 budget report by the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, said at least half of the previous year’s expenditures must be in the lottery reserve — around $400 million.

“If we tap the reserve to maintain awards at fiscal year 2012 level, we will reach that mark by fiscal year 2013, and we are not allowed to touch that reserve going forward,” he said.

After FY13, all award scholarships will be based soley on the annual lottery revenue coming into the fund — an issue that the General Assembly will need to address, Johnson said.

Although the HOPE scholarship remains constant for the time being, by 2014 the scholarship is estimated to pay half of what it does now. MARIJA VULETIC/Staff

“But based on the information coming out of the Finance Commission and the Lottery Corporation, right now, we don’t see the lottery revenue growing at a pace to cover the program expenditures in the foreseeable future,” he said.

With a 27 percent  increase in in-state enrollment, Georgia encounters the problem of helping more students with less state support.

In the existing system, HOPE covers about 90 percent of tuition, while the Zell Miller Scholarship covers all of it.

Gov. Nathan Deal plans on streamlining Zell Miller with traditional HOPE to make invoice reports easier on the universities.

Still, Zell Miller will continue to cover 100 percent of tuition and fees, while cuts will be made to the traditional HOPE scholarship, by FY13 — which begins July 1, 2012.

“I don’t think it’s fair at all that everyone else’s scholarship money is being cut short, while the Zell Miller award is staying the same,” Sichelstiel said. “If everyone else’s money is being cut, why aren’t theirs being cut too?”

The total tuition cost to attend the University is $3,641 for a student taking 15 credit hours, while the fee cost is $1,095, according to Tracy Ireland, the director of the Georgia Student Finance Commission.

Since 2008, the cost of tuition and fees have increased by 81 percent at research universities, including UGA.

The rise can be attributed to the decline of state funding support and the desire to maintain the existing quality of the University, Johnson said.

“The cost is being shifted from the state onto students and family households,” he said. “So, at what point do we start freezing out a portion of our Georgia students who will no longer be able to afford a postsecondary education?”

The Board of Regents will determine the exact increases in tuition and fees later in the year, Ireland said.

Michael Trainer, a freshman biology major from Johns Creek, said the amendments in the HOPE Scholarship come at no surprise.

“The changes are completely warranted,” Trainer said. “It’s impractical to think that the money originally donated would be replenished in the current economy.”

With the potential depletion in HOPE financial awards, enrolled and incoming freshmen are left worried about the upcoming years.

“If they’re not worried, then they definitely should be,” said Lesley Hauler, a freshmen pre-journalism major from Atlanta. “The decrease in HOPE awards could possibly cut off some students from coming to school because they won’t be able to afford it.”

About 61 percent of students who applied for financial aid received awards, according to the Fall 2011 Common Data Set.

The Office of Student Financial Aid was unable to comment as to whether it will be able to provide better support for students having to deal with the HOPE changes.

In order to supplement for the potential diminishing rewards, many freshmen students are giving up opportunities that they otherwise would have taken.

“I can honestly see students sacrificing internships that they may want for paying jobs, not applying to study abroad programs or even dropping extra curricular activities on campus that cost money,” Trainer said.

For Sichelstiel, this is already becoming true.

“My brothers and I will definitely have to work to help support my dad with paying for our education,” Sichelstiel said. “With having to find a job, I’m going to have to give up some internships that otherwise would have benefitted my career.”

MICHAEL TRAINER

Although, Tim Burgess, senior vice president for finance and administration, said he does not foresee the out-of-pocket costs affecting the University’s enrollment, some freshmen think otherwise.

“Families might have to take out student loans that they originally did not plan to, which could ultimately affect some of the students’ decisions to come to the school because money is such a huge decision when picking a school,” Trainer said. “And the HOPE scholarship has been incredibly enticing for instate students.”

For Devon Griger, a freshman international affairs and English major from Perry, it was.

“The major reason I’m here instead of another school is because of the HOPE scholarship,” she said. “Out-of-state schools offered me substantial scholarships, but the reason I stayed in-state was because of the promise of HOPE for the next four years, and now, it may cost more for me to go to UGA than to an out

-of-state school.”

Going forward, the question of whether Georgia will have the ability to provide support for its students becomes a high concern.

“The critical challenge for higher education is to maintain the quality, if not improve education and infrastructure, in the face of cuts,” Johnson said. “You find yourself with the mantra of doing more with less, but in reality, you end up doing less with less.”