Interested in Zell Miller? Be Sure to Take the SAT or ACT

There’s been a lot of talk this year about schools going test-optional during the pandemic. As with most things in college admissions, test-optional can be a great choice for some students but not for others - especially students who want to optimize merit aid opportunities. In many cases, test scores are required for merit scholarships, even at test-optional schools, and Georgia’s generous Zell Miller Scholarship is no exception.

To be eligible for Zell Miller, students need a 3.7 high school GPA and at least a 26 on the ACT or a 1200 on the SAT. The state has not waived the test score requirement during COVID, and we don’t expect them to do so. This means that Georgia students interested in the scholarship still need to take the SAT or ACT, even if the schools they’re applying to are test-optional.

The one concession the state has made is for students in the high school class of 2020. Knowing that many 2020 graduates missed testing opportunities due to the pandemic, the state has extended the deadline to submit a qualifying SAT or ACT score to December 31, 2020. Students who graduated in 2020 can still take the SAT or ACT this fall to meet Zell eligibility requirements If you’re in this group and you qualify, you’ll be upgraded from the Hope Scholarship to Zell Miller with your upgraded scholarship eligibility applying retroactively to your fall semester in college.

An important caveat for any student trying to test this fall is that test seats are currently very limited due to the backlog of current high school seniors who did not get to test last spring when the pandemic forced test centers across the country to close. Still, given the value of the scholarship for Georgia students, it’s certainly worth trying to register for a seat.

The total scholarship award amount for Zell varies by school but it usually amounts to about $45,000 over four years. Georgia residents can use the scholarship money at eligible public and private schools, including UGA, Georgia Tech, Emory, Agnes Scott, Morehouse, and SCAD - just to name a few. A full list of eligible schools is available here.

With tens of thousands of dollars on the line at a wide range of institutions, this is an opportunity that Georgia students do not want to overlook. Need help making a testing plan that can help you optimize this opportunity? Contact an Applerouth Program Advisor at 404-728-0661 or info@applerouth.com.