Louisiana’s TOPS program is one of the few in the nation to provide students with an opportunity to receive an education free of charge.
Gus Wales, director of public information at the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance, said Louisiana residents are extremely fortunate because very few states offer tuition exemption programs like TOPS.
Georgia is one of the only other states to offer a scholarship program similar to TOPS.
Susan Little, director of the Student Financial Aid Office at the University of Georgia, said Georgia residents who plan to attend college have an opportunity to receive the HOPE grant.
UGA students must achieve at least a 3.0 high school GPA to receive the grant. No standardized test scores are reviewed, and no accelerated high school curriculum is required to receive the HOPE grant, Little said.
Georgia’s program provides students with the opportunity to regain the award if it lost. If a student’s GPA drops, they will lose the award only momentarily and may regain it if they pull up their GPA, Little said.
Wales said students in Louisiana do not have this luxury and are unable to regain a lost award under normal circumstances.
TOPS provides students with annual stipends of up to $800, Wales said.
Stipends of this degree are not available to HOPE recipients, but students will receive an annual amount of $300 to cover book expenses, Little said.
Nearly two-thirds of undergraduate UGA students receive the HOPE grant, and an estimated $74 million will be spent this year to fund the grants issued, Little said.
The Louisiana TOPS program is available to all academically qualified students, regardless of their financial position, Wales said. Generally, financial aid is more accessible to students from low-income households and often is out of reach for students from middle-class homes.
Many universities comparable to LSU and UGA do not have statewide scholarship programs.
Gina Havel, a financial aid officer from the University of Texas at Austin, said the State of Texas has no assistance programs comparable to either TOPS or the HOPE grant. University officials agree that other states which offer alternatives to student loans provide primarily need-based programs which exclude the majority of college students.
The only grant program available in Texas is strictly need-based and is valued at approximately $1,500 per semester. Havel said undergraduates at UT-Austin pay $2,657 a semester in tuition and fees.
According to LSU’s Web site, LSU’s undergraduate tuition currently is $1,972 per semester and is lower than that of many of its peers.
While students attending other state schools have ample financial opportunities through outside scholarships, the higher price of tuition combined with a lack of a statewide educational aid program often presents financial challenges.
Michigan residents earning an undergraduate degree pay $3,894 a semester at the University of Michigan, said Vicki Crupper, associate director of client services at the University of Michigan.
Crupper said students in Michigan have several options for financial aid, although none are quite equal to TOPS or the HOPE grant. The awards available in Michigan are attainable based upon financial need and ACT scores, Crupper said.
Tommy Wilson, a student financial adviser from Auburn University, said students who exhibit financial need in Alabama may be eligible for the Alabama Student Assistance Program.
The Alabama program is a need-based program which will cover only a portion of tuition and fee cost, Wilson said.
Christine Day, associate director of student aid and scholarships, said LSU records show in 2003 there were 13,768 undergraduate students at the University that received TOPS.
The state spent approximately $42 million to fund these scholarships at the University last year alone.
According to the official TOPS Web site, the total award for attendance at the University for four years is $15,752. This amount is based on the tuition for the 2003-04 academic year.
Day said LSU records show a total of nearly $200 million has been spent on the TOPS program at the University since the state implemented the program in 1998.
Wales said the money comes from a general state fund and will continue for as long as the budget allows.
The Legislature reviews the program annually and it is subject to change each year upon review, Wales said.