Cleveland, GA – Governor Brian Kemp’s bold proposal of a $325 million investment to endow the Georgia DREAMS scholarship could change a great deal for countless students, especially those attending private institutions. DREAMS is aimed at helping students with covering the costs of college outside of tuition – housing and meal plans, books, technology, and transportation. As it stands currently, DREAMS is unavailable to Georgia’s private, non-profit universities, but the changes to DREAMS would include making it available to private schools like Truett McConnell University.
Kemp’s proposal is a one-time investment, allowing $25 million to be direct scholarship money, and the rest to serve as start-up money for an endowment whose proceeds would fund the scholarship each year. DREAMS is Georgia’s first need-based scholarship of its kind, and follows the steps laid down by Governor Zell Miller in the establishment of HOPE.
The scholarship will provide up to $3,000 to qualifying students, provided that they are Georgia residents, demonstrate financial need after other scholarships are considered, work or volunteer part time, and complete a financial literacy course. The funds, now available for students at private institutions, will open doors for thousands of students to pursue higher education as they chase their calling.
The largest hurdles for many students aren’t the costs of tuition, but the other factors in paying for college. For TMU’s students, the cost of housing, meal plans, and textbooks can be overwhelming. DREAMS will make it possible for more students to have financial peace as they come to study at TMU.
“I am incredibly grateful for the work of Governor Kemp to provide scholarship dollars and endowed monies to help assist the students of the state of Georgia,” stated Dr. Larry Lyon, President of TMU, “A scholarship like this, that expands beyond tuition and fees, is an incredible help to students who demonstrate need and are pursuing their callings at private institutions like Truett McConnell University.”
Truett McConnell University is a private Christian liberal arts and sciences university located in
Cleveland, Georgia, and has been ranked by Best Value Schools as the #1 Christian College in Georgia. TMU offers 80+ different programs of study including baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees. The University boasts a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio while 100% of incoming students receive financial aid. For more information about Truett McConnell University, visit www.truett.edu
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