Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized comments from Rep. Stacey Evans about the HOPE grant program.
(USA TODAY) -- The HOPE Scholarship Program has been rewarding Georgia college students with financial assistance since 1993.
As a result of academic requirements introduced in 2011, the only way for students to get their full tuition paid for is through a 3.7 GPA and a sufficient SAT or ACT score. Additionally, students must maintain a 3.3 GPA throughout their time in college.
Georgia legislators, like Rep. Stacey Evans, are reopening a discussion to tweak the HOPE Scholarship again.
Evans believes young people from lower-income households and less academically accessible areas are the individuals suffering the most from the more rigorous requirements.
"Those are the ones I believe HOPE was intended to help," says Evans, "Those students who are hardworking, studious and smart."
Current University of Georgia students are also experiencing the ramifications of the new requirements when their payments are due every semester.
"The HOPE Scholarship pays for part of my tuition," says junior UGA student Elizabeth Griffith, "It pays for around 78% of my tuition this upcoming year. In past years it paid around 90%, so it's decreasing."
Recent graduates of UGA, like Emily Salerno, know the changes influenced their financial situation before they even started college.
"The minute that they changed the law it was too late for me," says Salerno, "I couldn't even try to up my GPA. I couldn't fix the situation. I was just stuck. There was no grandfathering me into the old rules. There wasn't anything."
Eli Goodstein is a student at the University of Southern California and a summer 2015 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent.
