Days before the beginning of the Spring semester I, along with many of my fellow classmates, received a letter in the mail informing me that I would not be receiving my Hope scholarship for this semester.  Certain this was a mistake, I immediately called the Financial Aid office and received the disheartening news that my scholarship was, in fact, no more. 

The way the law is written, for degrees requiring 120 hours, the lottery scholarship will pay through the semester in which a student attempts 120 hours.  It turns out that I have attempted 127 hours, and it doesn't matter that I have maintained all the academic requirements for the lottery scholarship and am graduating in eight semesters despite transferring schools.  To add insult to injury, I have been informed that if I had taken fewer hours a semester, say only 12, my lottery scholarship would still be valid and would pay for the full five years it would take me to graduate at that pace.  Alas, it's too little too late for me.  However, for everyone else out there who wants to keep their Tennessee Lottery Scholarship, here's what you need to know, but that you may not realize:

1. ‘Attempted' encompasses any class that you're enrolled in past the drop date.  It doesn't matter if you drop it or if it counts toward graduation, it still counts toward your total number of hours.  Thus, don't withdraw from a class if you can help it and don't sign up for hours that don't count toward graduation unless it's something you just really want to take. 
2. If you don't need the hours- don't take it.  I played soccer for two years at UT Martin and received two hours credit every semester.  I didn't need these hours for my GPA, I was just enrolled in the ‘class' because my advisor told me to be.  Being enrolled for those two hours had no bearing on whether or not I was on the team; it was simply a means of giving athletes some amount of credit for the hours they put in.  It substituted for a physical education class and the rest all served as electives.   I didn't need these hours, but because I didn't realize too many hours could be a problem I didn't remove them from my schedule.  Thus, eight hours of soccer contributed to bumping my over 120. 
3.  Plan early for a minor.  The 120 hour requirement for a major doesn't account for a minor, nor does the lottery scholarship.  If you know you're going to minor in a subject, use your electives to take those classes.
4. AP credits from high school also count toward your 120 hour total. 

For students who have already lost their scholarships because of taking too many hours, there's still some hope.  Fred Clark, a financial aid advisor who handles lottery scholarships, agrees that the law is unfair to overachieving students and encourages students to appeal the decision.  "It will be an automatic denial when first appealed at the university, but then students can appeal to TSAC (Tennessee Student Assistance Fund) in Nashville.  If enough people appeal, the legislation could very well be rewritten."

There is no guarantee getting the law changed will benefit students who have already lost the scholarship, but it would at least benefit future recipients of the scholarship.  An official appeal form can be downloaded online.