COAG Scholarship

Each year, the Constitutional Officers Association of Georgia accepts applications and essays from high school seniors in Georgia for one of its multiple scholarships.  The scholarship committee reviews and rates the essays in anonymity.  Submissions are due by March 14th.  The Scholarship information is posted below.

Eligibility:

The COAG Scholarship is open to any Georgia high school senior (or a GED 1equivalency dated December 31, 2024 to May 31, 2026) who is a United States and Georgia citizen graduating by the spring of 2026.  You must be seeking an undergraduate degree, not a diploma, certification, master’s or doctoral degree.

Criteria:

The criteria for the award include:

• presenting a letter of acceptance or letter of enrollment from a school of accredited higher education located within Georgia (four-year college, junior college or technical college);
• providing proof of residency in the State of Georgia (GA Driver’s License or GA ID Card);
• submitting a 1,000-word essay;
• and presenting a COAG scholarship application (may be downloaded from 2026 www.coagonline.org/coag-scholarship).  

Essay:

The 1,000-word essay MUST be typed or computer-generated, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12-point font, on 8 ½ x 11 unlined white paper and in the English language.  Handwritten essays or those in any other format will be disqualified.  The essay must have a title page. The essay cannot contain any reference to the city, town or county where the applicant resides or any reference to the high school attended by the applicant or the applicant’s name.  You may reference an office, but names of elected officials or county must not be used. Any such reference will disqualify the applicant.  All essays must be original, factually accurate and must not infringe upon any material protected by copyright.  Failure to meet all of the above-mentioned requirements will disqualify the applicant.

Essay Theme 2026:

Every county in the State of Georgia has elected government officials known as "constitutional officers." County constitutional officers include the clerk of the superior court, judge of probate court, sheriff, and tax commissioner.   County constitutional officers are elected for four-year terms and have such powers and duties as provided by general law.  

TOPIC:  Interview and describe things that the county constitutional officers do on a daily basis, why they ran for office, and other questions you would like to find out information for your essay.    

Interview your Clerk of Superior Court, Probate Judge, Sheriff, or Tax Commissioner. Call their office and schedule a phone interview or virtual appointment regarding the COAG Scholarship Essay.  Post COVID-19, these interviews can be done in-person, over the phone or virtually.

Award Guidelines:

All entries will be reviewed by the Constitutional Officers Association of Georgia, Inc. (COAG) Scholarship Committee.  The committee members will select the scholarship recipients based on the content of the essay.  All essays become the property of COAG.  Winners names may be released to the public and news media for promotional purposes.  The scholarship will be announced by April 17, 2026 and will be payable to the individual winners in-person.

Procedures:

Your completed application, residency documentation, acceptance letter, title page, and essay should be EMAILED to coagdirector@gmail.com no later than midnight on March 13, 2026 in ONE EMAIL, not several separate emails.

Submissions must be sent directly to coagdirector@gmail.com, not through a local constitutional officer.

To be entered into the scholarship contest, the subject line of the email MUST say: “2026 COAG SCHOLARSHIP SUBMISSION”

Deadline:

All applications must be received by email at coagdirector@gmail.com no later than midnight on March 13, 2026 or they will be deemed ineligible.  NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED.    

Scholarship Application Packet

The packet that you are to submit should include the following items:

1. Scholarship Application Form - 1 original

2. Title Page  1 original

3. 1,000 Word Essay (pay attention to requirements under Essay- 1 original

4. Proof of acceptance from a school of accredited higher education located within Georgia (four-year college, junior college or technical college) - 1 copy

5. Proof of Georgia residency (photocopy of GA Driver’s License or state-issued identification card) - 1 copy  

Questions? Please contact:    Dr. Reagan Pritchett, Executive Director of COAG

Email: coagdirector@gmail.com