Core Academic Courses-
Beginning with Class of 2007, college preparatory HOPE Scholars must graduate with a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in all core academic subjects takes in grades 9-12:

• English
• Mathematics
• Science
• Social Science -- includes LCA Bible classes of Comparative Religions, Marriage and Family, and Worldview Studies.
• Foreign Language

All grades in these core curriculum courses are considered.

Grade Conversion to the 4.0 Scale---
Each semester grade in these subjects will be converted to a 4.0 scale a follows.

• A 90-100 = 4.0
• B 80-90 = 3.0
• C 70-80 = 2.0
• F Below 70 = 0

Honors and AP Grades --
Grades for HOPE consideration must be "unweighted" and do not include the extra points added for honors and AP classes. So LCA honors grades have 4 points subtracted from the report card grade before being converted to a 3.0, 4.0, etc. AP grades have 8 points subtracted from the report card grade. However, since AP courses are standardized nationwide, these grades then have 05 added, so that an "unweighted" grade of 80 would be considered a 3.5. The extra .5 is not added to an A or 4.0. This "unweighting" applies only to the HOPE scholarship calculation. LCA school transcripts show the AP and honors courses with points added.

Courses Receiving One Academic Credit Per Semester--
Most LCA academic courses are year long one, credit courses, earning .5 credit per semester. Courses receiving one whole credit per semester, such as LCA's ACCEL Discrete Mathematics course or block schedule classes transferred from other schools are averaged into the total twice as their credit is the equivalent of two semester classes earning .5 credit each.

HOPE Calculation --
Once core academic courses are isolated and "unweighted," the resulting grades of 0-4 are averaged. HOPE averages are not rounded, so that students with an average of 3.00 would receive the HOPE scholarship, while a student with an average of 2.999 would not. Georgia's HOPE Scholarship covers tuition, most fees, and a small book allowance at Georgia public colleges. At a private Georgia college the HOPE scholarship is $3,500 per year and is augmented by $1,100 TEG (Tuition Equalization Grant) The TEG is not dependent on grades; it is available to every Georgia resident who attends a private college in Georgia.

In previous years, the HOPE scholarship was awarded based on the numerical average of core academic grades, but the calculation process was changed by Georgia Legislature. Please contact LCA's College Admissions Advisor for further information.