UGA launched the Gateway to Georgia Scholarship program in 2012 in response to the increased need for student financial support in general and for aid for under-represented groups in particular. Gateway to Georgia is an effort designed to meet the increasing need of students who are academically qualified but have financial circumstances that might otherwise prevent them from pursuing a UGA degree. The scholarship program hopes to improve access to college and increase retention and graduation rates at Georgia's first land-grant university. As frequently cited in higher education literature, financial need is one of the greatest barriers to college completion. By reducing the amount of unmet financial need, the Gateway program improves the likelihood of completion for students.
Staff members are actively soliciting funds, and almost $1.9M has been received to date. The three scholarships under the Gateway to Georgia program are Georgia Access, a need-based scholarship program awarded by the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA); Georgia Opportunity, a merit-based program awarded by Undergraduate Admissions; and Georgia Gateway General, a general scholarship with more flexible award criteria (but which does not yet have a spending budget). The Georgia Access Scholarship has grown over the past few years thanks to additional support from donors. In 2014, the Georgia Department of Revenue allocated $339,940 of UGA license plate sales to the Georgia Access Scholarship Fund; the Georgia Athletic Association allocated $625,000 toward the Georgia Access Scholarship; and in 2014, UGA partnered with the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation to award $205,000 to 205 students which has helped under-represented students at UGA. An estimated 43% of the Georgia Access Scholarship recipients are from first-generation families as reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and 42% are from ethnic households. The average Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of the Georgia Access scholar is $179 per year.
