This is a state scholarship offered to Florida high school graduates who demonstrate high academic achievement. Florida Bright Futures funds are issued by the state of Florida directly to the eligible institution.
Applications, eligibility criteria and renewal criteria are available at high school guidance counselor offices or from the Florida Department of Education website at: www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org.
In order to receive funding for a Florida Bright Futures scholarship, a student must:
- be a Florida resident and a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen,
- be enrolled as a degree/certificate seeking student,
- enroll in a minimum of six semester (nine quarters or the equivalent in clock) hours per semester by the end of the school’s drop/add period,
- not owe a repayment or be in default under any state or federal grant, loan or scholarship program.
Bright Futures scholarships are available for fall and spring semesters. Bright Futures awards for summer courses, as well as for other educational expenses, are dependent on the Bright Futures award level and may change from year to year based on funding from the Florida Department of Education. For the most current funding information, consult the Bright Futures website at: www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org.
CF receives electronic notification about eligible CF student scholars from the Florida Department of Education and includes the scholarship in their aid offer. Actual payment depends upon the program regulations and the amount of tuition and fees assessed for the semester. After the end of the drop/add period, funds are either applied to the student’s account at the institution or returned to the student via the refund preferences on file with BankMobile.
Please note: Bright Futures does not cover remedial classes (prep coursework) and these credit hours are not included in the minimum requirement of hours per semester.
Each Bright Futures level has different academic criteria for eligibility. A student may receive only one scholarship:
Academic Top Scholars: The high school senior with the highest academic ranking in each county shall receive a predetermined scholarship amount per credit hour per semester, in addition to the Florida Academic Scholars Award, prorated by semester and hours.
Florida Academic Scholars: Pays 100 percent of tuition and applicable fees.
Florida Medallion Scholarship: Pays 100 percent of tuition and applicable fees for students in associate in arts and associate in science programs. Pays 75 percent of tuition and applicable fees for all other programs.
Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars: Pays per credit/of tuition and applicablevocational clock hour of program tuition. Recipients can use the funds toward an Applied Technology Diploma, career certificate program or a technical degree program (Associate of Applied Science degree or Associate of Science degree). A recipient of a Gold Seal CAPE scholarship who completes a technical degree program may also receive additional funding for up to 60 credit hours toward an eligible Bachelor of Science degree or a Bachelor of Applied Science degree program.
Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars Award: Pays per credit hour of vocation program tuition. Students may be funded for up to the maximum hours of their program of study in Career Educational Programs. These include Associate in Science degrees, Associate in Applied Science degrees, and College Credit Certificates, Career Certificates or Diplomas (also referred to as Career and Technical Certificates/CTC).
Dropped or Withdrawn Hours: Students will be required to repay the college the cost of any course/hours dropped or withdrawn unless an exception is recommended by the home postsecondary institution.
- A Bright Futures student who drops or withdraws from course hours that were funded by Bright Futures after the last day of the add/drop period will be responsible for reimbursing the postsecondary institution for the cost of course(s) dropped or withdrawn.
- A student may make a written appeal, however, for hours dropped or withdrawn (due to verifiable illness or emergency) after the last day of the add/drop period. CF will make an appeal recommendation for a repayment exception to the Florida Department of Education. A recommendation for an exception is based on received documentation of a verifiable illness or emergency beyond the student’s control.
- The Florida Department of Education may accept or deny the postsecondary institution’s recommendation for repayment exception. Nonrefunded hours may affect the student’s renewal eligibility.
- For first-year students, summer grades and hours earned after spring evaluation may be used if necessary to meet the scholarship renewal requirements of GPA improvement. A student must ask a financial aid specialist to submit a grade and hours update to the Florida Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) indicating any adjusted postsecondary institutional cumulative GPA.
Repayment calculations are based on the current Bright Futures amount per credit hour. For information regarding current scholarship requirements and funding amounts, go to http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/SSFAD/bf/bfmain.htm.
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