When Georgia Tech sophomore Ashley Shurtz bought textbooks this fall, she found herself making an unexpected stop before hitting the checkout.

"I had to go take out another $300 in cash from the ATM machine just to cover everything," said Shurtz, a chemical engineering major. "The cost of books was definitely a shock."

If a state study panel gets its way, Shurtz's bookstore bank withdrawals will get bigger.

The HOPE Scholarship Joint Study Commission agreed Wednesday the award should no longer help cover the cost of student fees and books. The Legislature would have to approve.

HOPE currently pays all mandatory fees and gives students a $300 annual book allowance -- an amount many students say doesn't begin to cover the skyrocketing costs of college textbooks.

"I paid $95 for one economics book for one semester," Shurtz said Thursday. "The HOPE book money doesn't go very far."

Adding fees and books together, the proposal could cost HOPE students (or their parents) more than $1,000 a year. While many of them grumbled about that, others said they would be willing to forgo fee and book allotments to keep HOPE alive.

"Paying tuition is the most important thing," said Aaron Boyd, a Georgia Tech physics major. "I'd be willing to give up the other for the perpetuation of the program."

Student fees vary from school to school. Fees are separate from tuition and pay for items such as bus service, health care, Internet access and intramural sports. Some colleges, such as the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Georgia State University, have used money from student fees to build state-of-the-art recreation and student centers. In the past 10 years, fees have more than doubled at most institutions. At the University of Georgia, student fees now run to $870 a year.

At the same time, textbook costs have been rapidly rising in Georgia and around the nation.

Since 1998, the cost of books has shot up 35 percent nationwide. The College Board estimates students spend between $600 and $750 per year on textbooks.

HOPE sends textbook reimbursement checks to qualifying students -- $150 each semester. Students can spend that much on one of their more expensive texts.

UGA spokesman Tom Jackson said the HOPE fee and book cuts wouldn't deter students from staying.

"This is not going to be a backbreaker for students," Jackson said. "I can't imagine that anybody would decide on a college based on the fees and book costs."

Andrea Dordic, a 20-year-old international business major at Georgia State, contends it's the principle of the thing. She said she doesn't think it's fair that the state is considering changing the rules.

"I think if you receive a HOPE scholarship, you should have your books and fees paid for. That's what we were promised and that's what I'm still getting," said Dordic, who said she spends about $600 a year on books.

University of Georgia freshman Brittany Testerman said she is already cutting corners. She buys used textbooks, looks for bargains and is sharing one book with a friend.

"I paid $278 for books this semester and all my friends paid more than $400," she said. "But that $150 HOPE book money made a big difference because I pay for school myself."

If HOPE cuts fees, Testerman said, she might have to move back home.

"It seems like a little cut overall, but it could mean the difference between getting the college experience and commuting from home," she said. "I don't want to have to take out a bigger loan."

-- Staff writer Brenden Sager contributed to this article.