Bright Futures Scholarships[1]Updated September 2012

Eligibility Requirements

  • You must not be found guilty of, or plead no contest to, a felony charge.
  • You must be a Florida resident and a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
  • You must pursue a degree at an eligible Florida college or postsecondary adult vocational program.
  • FL students, who are out of state due to a parent’s military or public service assignment, may still qualify.
  • You must submit a completed (error free) Initial Student Florida Financial Aid Application during your last year in high school (after December 1 and prior to graduation) or you will forfeit all future eligibility. To do the FAFSA, your parents will need to have their W2 forms from the previous year.If you do not submit a FAFSA, you will not be awarded either Bright Futures or state scholarships.
  • Prior to submitting the FFAA, it is your responsibility to provide yourcorrect: Name, Address, Date of birth, Social security number , web address
  • To apply online, visit select “State Grants, Scholarships & Applications” and click on “Apply Here.”
  • You need to create a personal User ID onlineto monitor your financial aid history and to update your demographic information, if necessary.
  • It is your responsibility to check the status of your application and your award, on the Bright Futures website.
  • Academic and community service requirements:

For allstudents graduating 2014 and after:

Florida Academic Scholars (FAS)

3.5 GPA in specified classes[2]

1290 SAT or 29 ACT

100 hours of community service

Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS)

3.0 GPA in specified classes

Home schooled students: 1220 SAT and 27 ACT. All others: 1170 SAT or 26 ACT.

75 hours of community service

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For students graduating in 2013:

Florida Academic Scholars (FAS)

3.5 GPA in specified classes

1280 SAT or 28 ACT

100 hours of community service

Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS)

3.0 GPA in specified classes

Home schooled students: 1070 SAT and 23 ACT. All others 1020 SAT or 22 ACT.

75 hours of community service

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Criteria for graduates of all years for theGold Seal Scholarship (GVS)

3.0 GPA in specified classes

3.5 in vocational series (3 classes)

SAT: Critical Reading 440 andMath 440 OR

ACT: English 17; Reading 18; Math 19 OR

CPT: Reading 83; Sentence Skills 83; Algebra 72

30 hours of community service

If you obtain a Bright Futures Scholarship…

  • You must maintain the required GPA and earn the minimum credit hours in order to renew your scholarship each year.
  • You can still use your “Prepaid college plan,” if you have one. See the financial officer at your college for details.
  • If you drop or withdraw from college classes, you willbe required to repay the Bright Futures monies awarded you for that class.
  • You can use your BF award for FIVE years post HS graduation, not the previous SEVEN years.

[1]For amounts of awards, click on this website. For more questions about Bright Futures, call 1-888-827-2004.