Bright Futures

The Future Is So Bright You’ll Need Shades!

**SEE END OF BLOG FOR CHANGES EFFECTIVE WITH THE 2020-2021 ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR**

Bright Futures has long been a significant source of financial aid for many Florida Students, and the scholarship program is now shining even brighter. Summer 2018 was the first-year Florida Academic Scholars received 100% tuition and summer 2019, 75% of tuition became available for Florida Medallion Scholars. The $300 college-related expense stipend is still only available for fall and spring semesters.

The requirements for summer are as follows

• Must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours across all summer sessions.
• Students with less than 6 credit hours required for graduation, may receive FAS and FMS by submitting a memo on letterhead from an academic advisor indicating less than 6 hours are required for graduation.
• Graduate-level hours may be approved by the student’s academic advisor.  Students taking graduate-level courses must submit a memo from the academic advisor indicating graduate-level courses meet undergraduate graduation requirements.

NOTE: A maximum of 45 credit hours may be funded in one academic year.

The requirements for Bright Futures are as follows

The top scholarship awards students with a minimum SAT score of 1290 or ACT score of 29 and higher. The Florida Medallion Scholarship awards students with a minimum SAT score of 1170 or ACT score of 26.  In addition, there are weighted GPA minimums of 3.50 for the Florida Academic Scholars Award plus 100 community service hours completed, and a 3.00 GPA for the Florida Medallion Scholars Award with 75 service hours.

For the renewal of Bright Futures, students need a minimum cumulative GPA of a 3.0 for the Florida Academic Scholarship and a minimum of a 2.75 for the Florida Medallion Scholarship (unweighted and unrounded).

A Safety Net for your Bright Future

Students who do not meet the annual minimum renewal GPA requirement in their first year of funding will be allowed a one-time restoration in a subsequent summer or academic year renewal period (end of spring term). Students who do not meet the minimum earned hours requirement or who fail to meet the minimum GPA requirement after their first year of funding will NOT be permitted a restoration opportunity.

Funding from financial aid will not disburse until after the end of the drop/add period for each term. This disbursement typically occurs after the second week of each semester.

Florida Prepaid disburses first for tuition. Bright Futures will then be applied to any institutional charges on the student’s account. Any left-over credit will be funneled into your student’s bank account.

FLORIDA ACADEMIC SCHOLARS AWARD

For high school students graduating in the 2018-2019 and the 2019-2020 academic years, a student must achieve an SAT combined score of 1290 or an ACT composite score of 29.

For high school students graduating in the 2020-2021 academic year and thereafter, a student must achieve the required examination scores published by the department. These are determined as follows:

“The minimum required SAT score for the Florida Academic Scholarship must be set no lower than the 89th national 902 percentile on the SAT. The department may adjust the required SAT score only if the required score drops below the 89th national percentile, and any such adjustment must be applied to the bottom of the SAT score range that is concordant to the ACT.”

FLORIDA MEDALLION SCHOLARS AWARD

For high school students graduating in the 2018-2019 and the 2019-2020 academic years, a student must achieve an SAT combined score of 1170 or an ACT composite score of 26.

For high school students graduating in the 2020-2021 academic year and thereafter, a student must achieve the required examination scores published by the department. These are determined as follows:

“The minimum required SAT score for the Florida Medallion Scholarship must be set no lower than the 75th national percentile on the SAT. The department may adjust the required SAT score only if the required score drops below the 75th national percentile, and any such adjustment must be made to the bottom of the SAT score range that is concordant to the ACT.”

If you have any questions about the number of hours your student needs, the impact of dropping a class, or any other situation, download the interactive tool here  — BFCreditHourTool (8)

For more information on UF Bright Futures scholarship award requirements click here.

For even more information on the Bright Futures scholarship, visit here.

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