Graduation & Beyond

Only students pursuing a program of study leading to a regular high school diploma shall be included in calculations for the purpose of determining class rank.

Students ranked 1, 2, and 3 based on GPA are recognized at class night as Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and Honorarium, respectively.

Graduating seniors with 89.5 or above cumulative grade point averages will be considered Honor Graduates and will be recognized at Senior Class Night.

STEM and Scholar Endorsed graduates who
have earned all the credits for their respective endorsement will be recognized at Senior Class Night.

GAfutures.org is a free online resource from the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) that helps students and their families plan for, apply to, and pay for college.

Students can create a GAfutures account to track their progress in HOPE GPA, college planning, and college admissions.

Georgia's HOPE Scholarship is available to Georgia residents who have demonstrated academic achievement as reflected by their HOPE GPA.

The scholarship provides money to assist students with a portion of the tuition cost at a HOPE Scholarship-eligible college or university.

Georgia's Zell Miller Scholarship is available to Georgia residents who have demonstrated academic achievement as reflected by their HOPE GPA and their performance on the ACT or SAT, as set by the state.

The scholarship provides money to assist students with the tuition cost of attending a Zell Miller Scholarship-eligible college or university.

For students not eligible for the HOPE Scholarship, there is still HOPE! Georgia's HOPE Grant (a separate program from the HOPE Scholarship) is available to provide financial assistance to Georgia residents working towards a certificate or diploma (continuing education programs are not eligible) at an eligible college or university in Georgia.

Full-time enrollment in a certificate or diploma program is not required for the HOPE Grant, and students are not required to graduate from high school with a specific GPA; however, they must have a 2.0 postsecondary calculated HOPE GPA at certain checkpoints to maintain eligibility.

The HOPE GPA is NOT the same as a student's high school GPA. The major difference is that the HOPE GPA includes only grades earned in the core subjects of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Foreign Language.

• HOPE GPA is calculated on a 4.0 scale (A=4.0, B=3.0, C=2.0, D=1.0, F=0).
• For Honors and AP Classes, the additional .5 points are removed from the final grade; however, an extra .5 is added to the final 4.0 scale score.
• High school credits earned in middle school will satisfy graduation requirements, but the credits do not count toward HOPE GPA.
• Academic Rigor Requirements: To meet the requirements to be a HOPE Scholar at high school graduation, students must earn a minimum of four full rigor credits from the Academic Rigor Course List before graduating from high school.

Students may check their high school HOPE GPA calculation and status upon completion of the 9th grade by signing into their GAfutures account and selecting My High School HOPE GPA.

GAfutures.org