Since it started giving grants on the year 1993, HOPE scholarship awarded more than $3 billion for more than 900,000 students who are attending colleges and universities in Georgia. 1. You have graduated from an accredited high school with a "B" average as specified by the HOPE program. In case you are a college student, you must have earned at least a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) at specific credit-hour checkpoints. 4. You must be a natural-born U.S. citizen. In case you are an alien residing in the country, you must present proof from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) of eligible permanent resident alien status.