Savannah Arts Academy HOPE Scholarship Information 2013-2014 The HOPE program is administered by the Georgia Student Finance Commission as directed by the state legislature. The state legislature may make changes to the program at any time. The steps below will help you to understand the HOPE GPA calculations and unofficially calculate your current HOPE GPA. This is based on information provided to us by the Georgia Student Finance Commission. Your HOPE GPA will be determined by the Georgia Student Finance Commission, not by SAA or the school system. For information about which GPAs qualify for HOPE Scholarships, please visit www.gacollege411.org. If you have any detailed questions or concerns, please feel free to visit the Georgia Student Finance Commission website at www.gsfc.org or call them at 1-800-505-GSFC. Note that the following rules apply to college prep and dual seal diplomas only, and will apply to all SAA students. 1. Identify Courses That Count Towards Your HOPE GPA The grades for all attempted (passed and failed) academic courses will be converted to a 4.0 scale and included in your HOPE GPA except those courses taken in middle school for high school credit. Academic courses include courses in the areas of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Foreign Languages. No arts courses whatsoever are used for HOPE calculations. To identify academic courses on your transcript, use the following guide: All English courses with course numbers beginning with 23. All Math courses with course numbers beginning with 27. All Science courses with course numbers beginning with 26 or 40 plus Animal Sciences (02.x210 ) and Plant Sciences (02.x410 ). All Social Studies courses with course numbers beginning with 45. All Foreign Language courses with course numbers beginning with 60-64. Remember, courses taken in middle school do not count toward HOPE. 2. Identify Honors, Accelerated and AP Courses & Adjust Bonus Points Find all academic classes that were taken at the Honors, Accelerated, or AP (Advanced Placement) level at Chatham County public high schools. Although most Honors courses are noted as such in their titles, some may not. The best way to identify Honors and AP courses is through the course numbers. Honors/AP course numbers end in 51, 52, or 95. Non-Honors/AP course numbers end in 11, 12, 21, 22, or 99. The exception is Accelerated Math I, II, & III, which do receive bonus points but might not have Honors course numbers. Example: Course # 27.0610051 is an Honors or AP course because the course number ends in 51. Course # 27.0610011 is not an Honors or AP course because the course number ends in 11.
Course # 40.0510052 is an Honors or AP course. Course # 40.0510012 is not an Honors or AP course. Course # 27.0610095 is an Honors or AP course because the course number ends in 95. Course # 27.0610099 is not an Honors or AP course because the course number ends in 99. For every one of those courses that is identified as Honors or AP, subtract the bonus points from your grade (5 pts. for all AP courses, and 3 pts. for Honors courses). PLEASE NOTE: The bonus points will always appear on your high school transcripts. The Georgia Student Finance Commission will be manipulating the bonus points only for the calculation of HOPE eligibility. 3. Convert Grades To The 4.0 Scale Use the chart below to convert all qualifying grades (including failing grades) to the 4.0 scale: Grades from 90-100 = A. A= 4.0 Grades from 80-89 = B. B= 3.0 Grades from 70-79 = C. C= 2.0 Grades from 0-69 = F. F= 0.0 If you fail an academic course, that grade will count. For example, if you failed Algebra II, and took Algebra II again in summer school, both grades will count. 4. Adjust For AP Courses If the course is an Advanced Placement (AP) course (or an IB course for students who transfer from an IB program), add.5 to your converted grade (on the 4.0 scale), unless your grade is already 4.0 or if you failed the course. So, for AP courses, your grade on a 4.0 scale will be one of the following: 4.0, 3.5, 2.5, or 0.0. Extra weight is not given to Honors courses. 5. Calculate Your Average Your transcript includes both half year classes and full year classes. Count the full year class grades twice and each half year grade once. Add up all of the scores (on the 4.0 scale), and divide by the total number (remembering that you counted full year courses twice). Do not round up. Your GPA will not be rounded up for the purposes of determining HOPE eligibility. This calculation should give you a good estimate of your current standing.
Examples: Try these (relatively) short examples. Note the HOPE grade on 4.0 scale in the space provided to help check your work and identify any mistakes. See the back of this sheet for answers. Student #1 17.0110011 Health 98 0.5 23.0610051 Honors 9 th Grade Lit. A 92 0.5 23.0610052 Honors 9 th Grade Lit. B 90 0.5 27.0810011 Math I A 90 0.5 27.0810012 Math I B 88 0.5 36.0510011 Personal Fitness 95 0.5 45.0830051 Honors World History A 98 0.5 45.0830052 Honors World History B 93 0.5 54.0241011 Beg. Women s Chorus I A 92 0.5 54.0241012 Beg. Women s Chorus I B 98 0.5 53.0711021 Beg Choral En I A 90 0.5 53.0711022 Beg Choral En I B 99 0.5 60.0720011 Spanish II A 81 0.5 60.0720012 Spanish II B 90 0.5 Student #2 23.0510051 Honors American Lit. A 79 0.5 23.0510052 Honors American Lit. B 93 0.5 27.0920011 Accelerated Math II A 97 0.5 27.0920012 Accelerated Math II B 91 0.5 45.0571051 Honors American Gov. 82 0.5 45.0610051 Honors Econ/bus/free Ent 93 0.5 45.0820051 AP U.S. History A 91 0.5 45.0820052 AP U.S. History B 84 0.5 53.0373011 Inter Band III A 92 0.5 53.0373012 Inter Band III B 98 0.5 53.0573021 Inter Orchestra III A 98 0.5 53.0573022 Inter Orchestra III B 90 0.5 60.0730051 Spanish III A 88 0.5 60.0730052 Spanish III B 82 0.5
Answers: Student #1 17.0110011 Health 98 0.5 ---- 23.0610051 Honors 9 th Grade Lit. A 92 0.5 3 23.0610052 Honors 9 th Grade Lit. B 90 0.5 3 27.0810011 Math I A 90 0.5 4 27.0810012 Math I B 88 0.5 3 36.0510011 Personal Fitness 95 0.5 ---- 45.0830051 Honors World History A 98 0.5 4 45.0830052 Honors World History B 93 0.5 4 54.0241011 Beg. Women s Chorus I A 92 0.5 ---- 54.0241012 Beg. Women s Chorus I B 98 0.5 ---- 53.0711021 Beg Choral En I A 90 0.5 ---- 53.0711022 Beg Choral En I B 99 0.5 ---- 60.0720011 Spanish II A 81 0.5 3 60.0720012 Spanish II B 90 0.5 4 The correct HOPE GPA for this student is 3.5. Student #2 23.0510051 Honors American Lit. A 79 0.5 2 23.0510052 Honors American Lit. B 93 0.5 4 27.0920011 Accelerated Math II A 97 0.5 4 27.0920012 Accelerated Math II B 91 0.5 3 45.0571051 Honors American Gov. 82 0.5 2 45.0610051 Honors Econ/bus/free Ent 93 0.5 4 45.0820051 AP U.S. History A 91 0.5 3.5 45.0820052 AP U.S. History B 84 0.5 2.5 53.0373011 Inter Band III A 92 0.5 ---- 53.0373012 Inter Band III B 98 0.5 ---- 53.0573021 Inter Orchestra III A 98 0.5 ---- 53.0573022 Inter Orchestra III B 90 0.5 ---- 60.0730051 Spanish III A 88 0.5 3 60.0730052 Spanish III B 82 0.5 2 The correct HOPE GPA for this student is 3.0.
Savannah Arts Academy HOPE Scholarship Worksheet 2013-2014 Instructions: Use the information on the HOPE Handout to figure out which grades count towards HOPE and convert them to the 4.0 scale. For each half unit write the converted score in one blank box below. For each full unit write the converted score in two blank boxes below. 4.0 Scale Score 1 26 2 27 3 28 4 29 5 30 6 31 7 32 8 33 9 34 10 35 11 36 12 37 13 38 14 39 15 40 16 41 17 42 18 43 19 44 20 45 21 46 22 47 23 48 24 49 25 50 4.0 Scale Score To calculate your approximate HOPE average, add up all of the converted scores above and then divide by the number of boxes you used. My HOPE Average: