Georgia

 

How Scholarships are Awarded

Step 1) Apply with us.

In order to prove their eligibility, households must complete AAA’s application and provide supporting documentation by the stated deadline. The households must meet both the state and AAA’s requirements (see state charts on the applications). Each household member is required to provide proof of income. AAA does not rely on a household’s enrollment in a state food assistance or TANF program as proof of eligibility, a process sometimes referred to as “direct certification,” since those programs audit less than 3 percent of their recipient households.

In Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, the household must reapply annually by the stated deadline. In Arizona scholarships may be automatically renewed for multiple years without reapplying.

Step 2) We notify you of your eligibility determination.

Processing of applications is typically completed within ten to twelve weeks once ALL required documentation has been received and the application fee has been paid. Parents can check the status of their application by clicking on the “Check the Status of your Application” link. Once applications are in the “Completed” status, a determination letter will be mailed to the address on file within four to six weeks.

Households that are determined eligible AND have received funding for the upcoming school year will receive 1) a Scholarship Award Letter and 2) a School Commitment Form (SCF) in the mail directly from AAA. Those that are determined ineligible will receive a denial letter in the mail directly from AAA.

Please DO NOT enroll your student into a private school until you have actually received an AAA Scholarship Award Letter and SCF. Funding is not guaranteed. If you enroll your student before receipt of an SCF, you will be responsible for their tuition and fees and you may not qualify for future scholarship funding.

Step 3) If eligible, you tell us that you accept the scholarship.

The use of a scholarship cannot be postponed. The household must find an eligible private school for their student(s) as soon as they receive a scholarship award letter and SCF. Failure to meet the deadline stated on the SCF will result in the forfeiture of the awarded scholarship. Families should make a copy of the blank SCF before taking it to an eligible private school in case they decide to transfer to a different eligible private school later in the year. By completing the school enrollment form, both the parents and the schools agree to abide by the terms of the AAA Parent/School Handbooks.

Schools should not accept any students without an SCF unless the household: 1) is willing to self-pay their tuition and fees until they are awarded a scholarship and 2) will self-pay if they are not. If a household receives a SCF in error or their eligibility is revoked, the private school that has enrolled the student will be notified as soon as possible. By accepting the scholarship student(s) and scholarship payment(s) the private school agrees to repay any incorrectly made or overpayment of funds on behalf of the student(s), regardless of the reason. Households that document eligibility but are placed on a waitlist do not have a scholarship unless they receive a Scholarship Award Letter and SCF at a later date.

Step 4) Scholarship payments are disbursed during the year.

Four times during the school year, AAA sends the school a verification form to ascertain whether the student remains enrolled and is current on any funds personally owed to the school. If the verification report is returned to us by the deadline, AAA then disburses one quarter of the scholarship award in the form of a check, made payable to the parent/guardian but for deposit only by the school. The parent/guardian must restrictively endorse the check over to the school before it can be deposited.

Scholarship Values

The value of the awarded scholarship is limited by the state (except for Alabama). In an effort to ensure that the neediest families receive the most help, AAA goes one step further and awards scholarships based on the following sliding scale:

• 100% scholarship for families with incomes of 185 (new applicants) and 200 (renewing applicants) percent of poverty
• 75% scholarship for families with incomes of between 201 and 225 percent of poverty
• 50% scholarship for families with incomes of between 226 and 250 percent of poverty

 

Please contact us at 888-707-2465 if you have any questions or would like more information.