The HOPE Scholarship covers up to a maximum of 127 semester credit hours (or 190 quarter credit hours) of attempted or paid hours toward your first undergraduate degree. Once a student reaches this 127 semester hour limit- whether by attempted hours or by hours for which HOPE has paid-the scholarship eligibility ends, with no exceptions for extra hours required by certain majors, dual degrees, or second majors
. Regarding enrollment per semester, the HOPE Scholarship award is typically based on up to 15 credit hours per semester for public institutions (or 12 credit hours for private institutions). The scholarship amount is applied toward tuition for up to these maximum hours each term, but the total cumulative hours covered by the scholarship cannot exceed 127 semester hours
. In summary:
- Total hours covered by HOPE Scholarship: up to 127 semester credit hours attempted or paid.
- Maximum hours covered per semester: up to 15 credit hours for public colleges, 12 for private.
- No extensions or exceptions for additional hours beyond 127.
- Eligibility ends once the 127-hour limit is reached or after 10 years from high school graduation (with some military service exceptions)
This means the scholarship effectively covers about four years of full-time undergraduate study, assuming a typical 15 credit hour semester load.
