Some Georgia students might have to save up a little more money to go to college.
The Georgia Student Finance Commission says college tuitions around the state could increase by 3% a year starting in 2013. Tracy Ireland with the commission says the HOPE Scholarship will not be able to keep up with the rising costs.
The commission released a report stating tuition and fees for one semester at the University of Georgia this year adds up to $4,736. The HOPE Scholarship covers around two-thirds of that cost. The commission predicts the tuition will reach $5,074 by 2015, with HOPE covering about half.
Ireland says the biggest cause for the lower HOPE payments is a drop in lottery funds. He also says more students are becoming elligible for HOPE.
Jones County High School sophomore Sarah Pounds says, "I think HOPE makes it easy for some kids to say 'okay I'll go to college. I mean it's paid for this much so I might as well.' But if you're paying more out of pocket, it makes you think about it a bit more."
Pounds says the drop in HOPE payments makes her wonder how people will balance going to school and finding more money to pay for college.
The commission predicts the payments will continue to drop through 2016.