While many know Georgia as the Peach State, lesser-known is the state motto: “Wisdom, Justice, Moderation.” All three values expressed can be seen in the state’s educational system, both public and private. Georgia students are encouraged to pursue wisdom, and those without the financial means to support themselves are given scholarship opportunities, exemplary of justice and moderation. The scholarships available to Georgia students include:
Georgia Foundation Scholarship for Agriculture
Deadline: March 1, 2020
Amount: $1,500; $3,000
Each year, the Georgia Foundation awards fourteen scholarships to students pursuing a career in agriculture. These students must also demonstrate leadership abilities and have at least a 3.0 GPA. As with many of the other scholarships listed in this article, only Georgia residents may apply. Students graduating high school or will enroll in an accredited institution with an agriculture program within a year can apply for this scholarship.
Georgia Mining Foundation Scholarship Program
Deadline: TBD for 2021
Amount: $500
Over 40 mining organizations, plus 175 mining-related companies, make up the Georgia Mining Foundation. Dedicated to high school students in Georgia, the foundation offers $500 scholarships to multiple students. High school seniors who live in a county where the Georgia Mining Foundation operates in should check out this scholarship.
Emerge Scholarship
Deadline: February 27, 2020
Amount: Varies
The Emerge Scholarship provides a sort of female-centric counterpart to the male-focused Colored Rocks program. Since 2001, Emerge awarded nearly half a million dollars to disadvantaged female Georgia students who had their education interrupted by outstanding circumstances.
Emerge provides women who demonstrate a “vision to succeed,” with financial assistance, aiming to motivate female students to return to school, “emerge” from their interrupted educational track and pursue a field of passion. To be eligible, female students must be at least 25 years of age and residents of Georgia. Emerge awards scholarships based on financial need and community service.
Georgia Tuition Equalization Grant
Deadline: Varies
Amount: $1,350
The GTEG provides financially disadvantaged Georgia college students that attend in-state private schools with grant assistance. In order to be eligible for the award, students must be legal US/Georgia residents, be in good academic standing, and be enrolled at either a private Georgia college or a study program that leads to a college degree.
Awards of $450 are given for three semesters, leading to a total grant of $1,350. However, some Georgia schools operate in quarters, in which case $300 will be awarded for four quarters. Either way, the money tends to equalize, and the leftover cash goes towards tuition for the next year.
Georgia Thespians Achievement Scholarship
Deadline: TBD for 2020
Amount: $2,000
As a little-known playwright, William Shakespeare, once wrote in As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women [are] merely players….They have their exits and their entrances.” The Georgia Thespians Society is in all likelihood quite familiar with this quote.
They aim to help Georgian actors and actresses with their respective entrances into the world of theatre through this scholarship, which awards $2,000 to sixteen students who show outstanding promise in varying areas of performance or technical expertise.
Ty Cobb Educational Foundation Scholarship
Deadline: March 1, 2020
Amount: Varies
Honoring the late Tyrus R. Cobb, the Ty Cobb Education Foundation offers Georgian undergraduate students scholarships. The foundation asks that students have at least a 3.0 GPA. Additionally, students fill out an application, send in their transcript, provide one letter of recommendation, their or their parents’ tax returns, and must file the FAFSA. The foundation gives preference to students with the greatest financial need and the best academic standing.
Watson-Brown Foundation Scholarships
Deadline: February 15
Amount: $5,000
The Watson-Brown Foundation, named for 19th-century congressman Thomas Watson and former White House staffer Walter J. Brown, aims to improve public education in Georgia and encourage responsibility among the youth. The foundation awards a renewable scholarship each year, open only to high school seniors from certain counties in northeast Georgia.
The program rewards academic excellence and provides financial benefits to go towards tuition. The scholarship, renewable for four years, requires students to maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 to receive additional funding. According to the foundation’s website, Watson-Brown scholars are currently enrolled in nearly 140 colleges nationwide.
Riding Forward Scholarship
Deadline: February 29, 2020
Amount: $5,000
Offered by Regions Banking, a “small town” bank that has branches spreading across the state of Georgia, this scholarship centers around Black History Month, celebrated each February. The scholarship is based on an essay contest, with the prompt: “Of all the African-Americans who have made significant achievements and innovations for our society, is there one in particular who inspires you?”
In 500 words or less, Georgia students must answer the question to the best of their ability. Thirty-two scholarships are awarded, half to high school seniors with a prize of $5,000, and the other half to already-enrolled college students consisting of $3,500. In total, the Riding Forward scholarship doles out $136,000 in awards each year.
| Lender | Rates (APR) | Eligibility | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
5.50%-16.12%* Variable
3.99%-15.61%* Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT CITIZENS |
 |
5.54% - 15.70% Variable
3.99% - 15.49% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT SALLIE MAE |
 |
4.63% - 17.99% Variable
3.49% - 17.99% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT CREDIBLE |
|
|
6.00% - 13.75% Variable
3.99% - 13.75% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT LENDKEY |
 |
5.66% - 14.72% Variable
3.69% - 14.56% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ASCENT |
 |
3.70% - 8.75% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ISL |
 |
5.62% - 16.85% Variable
3.69% - 16.49% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT EARNEST |
 |
5.00% - 14.22% Variable
3.69% - 14.22% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ELFI |
