Higher education affordability is one of the most pressing challenges facing Georgia communities today.More than ever, Georgia students are pursuing college and postsecondary opportunities, with the University System of Georgia (USG) marking an all-time record high of enrollment last year. At the same time, rising attendance costs are outpacing resources available to students to pay for college.
While Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship and Zell Miller Scholarship remain the most recognized pathways for students seeking state support, their overly restrictive criteria leave behind many with financial need. In its current form, Georgia’s financial aid system disproportionately benefits students from higher-income backgrounds who already have the means to afford college. Meanwhile, students from lower-income families are forced to take on unsustainable levels of debt, attend more affordable, out-of-state institutions, or forgo college altogether.
To ensure opportunity is truly within reach for all, Georgia must take steps towards implementing a comprehensive need-based aid system in higher education.
To ensure that opportunity is truly within reach for all, Georgia must take steps towards implementing a comprehensive need-based aid system in higher education.
Even with Georgia’s relatively low college costs compared to states nationwide, it still has the second highest average student loan debt of any state with college remaining unaffordable for many.
Georgia ranks fourth in the nation in total spending on financial aid for students, yet remains one of two states that fails to offer need-based aid.
Only 78% of Georgia students attend college in Georgia, the lowest home-state college attendance rate in the Southern region.
44% of undergraduate students in Georgia receive the HOPE Scholarship or Zell Miller Scholarship – but students from higher-income families are much more likely to receive them, while lower-income families are much less represented.
More than 90% of students from families with income greater than $120,000 received the HOPE Scholarship or Zell Miller Scholarship from 2013-14 to 2018-19.
Over 30% of students from families with incomes above $120,000 received the full-tuition Zell Miller Scholarship at least once in a five-year span, compared to under 10% of students from families earning less than $30,000.
Rural counties are often the least likely to see high HOPE Scholarship-eligibility rates: in 16 Georgia counties, fewer than 30% of students are eligible for the HOPE Scholarship.
Georgia’s current financial aid system rewards privilege over potential, leaving many capable students without the financial means to pursue their dreams of attending college and attaining economic self-sufficiency. Both the HOPE Scholarship and Zell Miller Scholarship include eligibility requirements that often disadvantage students from under-resourced communities. High GPA cutoffs, rigorous course mandates, and standardized test score requirements create systemic barriers for students who attend schools with limited access to Advanced Placement, honors, or dual enrollment classes and fewer test prep resources.
For example, Zell Miller Scholarship recipients must earn at least a 3.7 GPA and a 1200 SAT or 26 ACT—benchmarks strongly correlated with higher family income and school quality. Test score requirements are especially biased against Black and low-income students. Students from rural or low-income districts, and those balancing work or family responsibilities, are less likely to meet or maintain these criteria. As articulated in the Thurgood Marshall Institute’s recent publication, Admissions for Democratic Merit , the SAT and ACT are narrow and incomplete academic performance measures limited in their ability to reliably predict college student achievement—especially for Black and low-income students. Additionally, policies such as time limits on aid eligibility and strict GPA checkpoints make it difficult for non-traditional or first-generation students to retain support.
These affordability challenges disproportionately impact low-income students, first-generation students, Black students, rural students, and other students from underserved, under-resourced communities. Without a comprehensive need-based aid system, the state risks widening equity gaps that undermine the state’s best interests for all Georgians.
Making college costs more affordable isn’t just about lessening financial burden on students — it is about strengthening communities, expanding opportunity, and supporting Georgia’s future. Too often, Georgians are held back from opportunity because college education becomes too expensive in the state. When Georgians do pursue college, they often bear heavy debt that limits their ability to get ahead economically.
Georgia ranks second-highest in the nation for student loan debt, leaving thousands of college students burdened with an average of more than $40,000 owed. Debt burdens make it harder for student loan borrowers to buy homes, start families, or take meaningful but lower-paying jobs for the public good, including in teaching, public service, or other work that helps to build and sustain our communities. Instead of saddling Georgians with debt, the state should invest in their futures through creating more comprehensive college affordability options.
When college becomes unaffordable, too many talented, capable students simply can’t attend at all. Other students make the difficult choice to attend a school that might not have their academic program or may be left with no choice but to leave the state in order to access higher education. The lack of need-based aid in Georgia has led many students to choose colleges out of state that offer need-based aid packages that can make them more affordable than in-state Georgia schools. In fact, Georgia has the lowest home-state college attendance of any state in the South. Many of these students never return to Georgia, meaning the #1 state for business is losing talent to neighboring states. These cost barriers especially impact students from underserved communities, including Black, first-generation, low-income, and rural communities, deepening existing inequities because students have fewer opportunities to pursue higher paying careers that require college degrees.
The cost of college affects who enrolls and who finishes. Financial reasons are the number one reason students drop out before earning their intended degree. Rising costs push students to take on multiple jobs, leaving less time for academics. Even small expenses — like textbooks, transportation, or housing— can add up, ultimately becoming a deciding factor in whether a student can stay enrolled.
College affordability can make a big difference for Georgia students, families, and communities.
Georgia remains one of two states without a comprehensive, statewide need-based aid program. Despite spending the fourth most nationally on financial aid, virtually all those funds go toward merit-based scholarships, leaving less than $10 million each year dedicated to need-based aid.
By contrast, neighboring states like Florida and North Carolina invest more than $300 million annually in need-based financial aid. This disparity makes Georgia an outlier — leaving behind thousands of talented students who could otherwise benefit from postsecondary opportunities and contribute to Georgia’s job market and economy.
Investing in affordability is not just a moral imperative — it’s a worthwhile investment in Georgia’s economic vitality, civic health, and long-term prosperity. It affects the futures of Georgia students, families, and communities, and the state’s success in empowering its next generation of leaders.
In August – December 2025, the Georgia State Senate is convening a Study Committee to hold monthly hearings discussing the college affordability crisis in Georgia, and policymakers, advocates, students and community members are pushing for a solution.
Use Georgia’s lottery reserve funds to create a grant program that provides direct financial support to students attending college that demonstrate financial need.
The program should have minimal eligibility restrictions beyond demonstrated financial need, ensuring broad access for Georgia students who need it.
Coordinate with school districts, counselors, and community organizations statewide to ensure that eligible students and families know about the grant, how to apply, and the deadlines.
If you’d like to share your story or learn how to get involved in the fight to ensure college affordability for all Georgians, please reach out to us at GAHigherED@naacpldf.org.
If you would like present your story during the public comment period of any of the above meetings, please complete this form.
LDF’s Equal Protection Initiative (EPI) works to protect and advance efforts to remove barriers to opportunity for Black people in the economy, our educational systems, and other areas.
Admissions systems and practices can and must do better in identifying and enrolling students who can offer vital contributions to the mission of higher education in a diverse democratic society.
Forgiving student loans is a necessary step toward closing the racial-wealth gap, which is critical for advancing racial and economic justice in the United States.
