Does the HOPE scholarship pay for room and board!?!?!?

Answer 1

Maybe the OP was referring to this?

HOPE - Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally - is Georgia's unique scholarship program that rewards students with financial assistance in degree, diploma, and certificate programs at eligible Georgia public and private colleges and universities, and public technical colleges.

Since the HOPE Program began in 1993, more than $3 billion in HOPE funds has been awarded to more than 900,000 students attending Georgia's colleges, universities, and technical colleges.

I agree the language of the hope scholarship tax credit is very confusing. I did find this from NASFAA:

Understanding the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit
What Is It?

The Hope Scholarship is a tax credit, not a scholarship. Tax credits are subtracted directly from the tax a family owes, instead of being subtracted from taxable income like a tax deduction.

A family must file a federal tax return and owe taxes to get this tax credit. A family cannot get a refund for the Hope credit if it does not pay taxes. A family that owes less tax than the maximum amount of the Hope tax credit for which it is eligible can only take a credit up to the amount of taxes owed.

For the 2006 tax year, a family may claim a tax credit up to $1,650 for each eligible dependent for up to two tax years (100% of the first $1,100 and 50% of the second $1,100 paid for qualified expenses). The Hope credit is available only until each student's first two years of postsecondary education are complete. Gulf Opportunity Zone students may claim up to $3,300 (100% of the first $2,200 and 50% of the second $2,200) for the 2006 tax year.

The exact amount of the Hope credit also depends on a family's income, the amount of qualified tuition and fees paid, and the amount of certain scholarships and allowances subtracted from tuition. The total credit is also based on how many eligible dependents are in the family, rather than a maximum dollar amount for the family as with the Lifetime Learning tax credit.

Answer 2

The HOPE *Scholarship* is not a scholarship in the sense that you understand it to be at all. It is a non-refundable tax credit on your or your parent's federal taxes that you take in the next tax year. It is, IMO, very poorly named and quite misunderstood.