Changing Lives
Too many students who dream of attending UGA are limited by financial obstacles. The GCS program is a major step forward in removing those barriers.
The Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program was created to grow the number of need-based scholarships awarded to UGA students—a giant step toward eliminating the financial obstacles for those seeking a UGA education.
THE NEED
Each year, around 20 percent of UGA undergraduates receive a federal Pell Grant, which is awarded to students with exceptional financial need. Among those Pell Grant recipients, well over a thousand students report a family income less than tuition and fees. For many, that means everything in their college experience—housing, food, transportation, tuition—is up to them. Some contribute to their family’s income on top of it all.
And even after receiving HOPE or Zell Miller scholarships and the Pell Grant, students from the lowest income families still have a financial aid gap of $13,000 on average.
These students, who pursue education in the face of financial strain, deserve to be supported. That’s where the GCS program comes in.
THE IMPACT
From 2017 – 2020, GCS donors saw their gifts transform to have twice the impact: the UGA Foundation matched any gift in the amount of $50,000; $75,000; or $100,000 to establish an endowed undergraduate need-based scholarship. Those endowments will provide a significant scholarship in perpetuity to support deserving students with unmet financial need, helping students for generations to come earn a degree at the University of Georgia.
So, thanks to GCS donors, over 500 need-based scholarships have been created since the start of the program. Now that’s commitment.
Right now, as the world contends with the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic ramifications, many GCS students rely on student emergency funds to pay for food, rent, medical care and more.
Donating to these funds allows you to make a direct, profound impact on student lives.
Brittany Rider
Program Coordinator
(706) 369-5965
brittany.rider@uga.edu
The GCS program is committed to…
Some call it giving back. We call it being a Georgia Bulldog.
Hundreds of scholarships have been established to help driven, deserving students. It is our goal to support every UGA student in need, and the GCS program is helping us get there.
Georgia Commitment Scholarship Donor
“My time at UGA established in me an intellectual curiosity that continues to drive me. For that, I will always do what I can for the university.”
- Ernie Perez (BBA '89)
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Georgia Commitment Scholarship Recipient
“This scholarship has allowed me to grow in my faith, grow in my major, and get more involved at UGA.”
- Savonte Wilson ’21
Read MoreThis one-pager provides a by-the-numbers look at how the Georgia Commitment Scholarship program is helping students, who it’s helping and the support that makes that help possible.
Contact Us Today
For more information about Georgia Commitment Scholarships, please complete the form below.
Note to students: Inquiries about this scholarship should be made through the Office of Financial Aid.
