HOPEless?

The governor of Georgia announced his new plan for the HOPE scholarship and Pre-K funding this morning.

Until now, the state funded the full tuition plus a book and mandatory fees stipend at all GA public universities for all seniors who graduated a high school in GA with a 3.0 average, and who maintained this average throughout college.  Additionally, the state funded a free Pre-K program for families.

The new plan calls for students to only earn full tuition if they have above a 3.7 GPA, and up to 90% covered if they have a 3.0 GPA.  Additionally, no book or mandatory fees will be distributed.  As for Pre-K, the length of the school day has been reduced to cut costs.

I think the new plan is actually decent considering the recent budget cuts.  Students who are excelling academically and take rigorous courses will still have the opportunity to attend college in-state for free or almost free.  This is a great reward for hard work, and an even better incentive to keep our students in state universities.  Additionally, as the article mentions, with the cuts to the length in the Pre-K school day, there will be more opportuntities for families to enroll in the program, which will give education to more children who need it.  Teaching children early on is the best way to set them up for a better future, so this plan is actually our benefit.

While I still have some questions about what this means for current high school and college students as well as other concerns, overall, this plan is a winner in my book.

What are your opinions on Deal's new plan?

College Funding

Many students can't afford college.  That's one of the top reasons why they don't go to college.  Thankfully, the government has financial support systems for these students such as the Pell Grant.  But, with this grant and many other programs on the budget chopping block, I have to wonder how we're going to educate our children in the future?  College is expensive, and is getting more expensive by the minute.  Some states have state-funding for students who meet a minimum GPA and attend a state school, but even these programs are starting to get slashed.  So, that leaves us with a problem.  If students can't get funding, but are eligible and want to go to college, how can they go?  Student loans are an option, but they also have to be repaid.  Even though students should be able to get a better, higher-paying jobs after graudating college, loans are still hard to pay off with a typical entry-level salary.  Plus, with a high unemployment rate, jobs are harder to come by these days.  Thats why these federal funding programs are the key to our future.  It's all about opportunity costs.  The cost of not educating students who would excel with a college education is high compared to the cost of funding their education, so that they can go on to change the world.