Bright Futures

Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program

Bright Futures Handbook

The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program establishes three lottery-funded scholarships to reward Florida high school graduates for high academic achievement. The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program is comprised of the following three awards:

Initial Eligibility Requirements to Receive Funding

The student will:

  • Be a Florida resident and a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen. A student’s residency and citizenship status are determined by the postsecondary institution. Questions regarding such status should be directed to the financial aid office or admissions office of the institution the student plans to attend.

  • Not owe a repayment or be in default under any state or federal grant, loan, or scholarship program unless satisfactory arrangements to repay have been made.

  • Meet specific coursework and minimum grade point average (GPA) and test score requirements which are outlined on the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) website

  • ATS - The Academic Top Scholars award, announced by the Florida Department of Education before the end of the fall term after all term one disbursements are reported, is awarded to the Florida Academic Scholar with the highest academic ranking in each county (based on the product of multiplying the Bright Futures GPA and the highest qualifying SAT/ACT test score). The recipient receives a cost per credit hour award established by the Florida Legislature in the General Appropriations Act in addition to the Florida Academic Scholars award.

Current year award amounts: Bright Futures Length of Scholarship and Award Amounts 2018 2019.pdf

Applying for an Award

For Initial Eligibility the student will:

  • Submit a fully completed error free Initial Student Florida Financial Aid Application during the last year in high school (after December 1 and prior to graduation) available online at www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org (select State Grants, Scholarships & Applications, then Apply Here). The application gives the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) permission to evaluate the student’s high school transcript and standardized test scores for eligibility for a Bright Futures Scholarship and other state scholarships and grants.
  • Apply during the last year in high school, before graduation, or forfeit all future eligibility for a Bright Futures Scholarship.

For additional information, please go to the Florida Department of Education's Student Scholarship Grant Program: http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/SSFAD/home/uamain.htm

Registration

Bright Futures registration begins every year on December 1st. Register at https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org

Bright Futures Registration Instructions

1) go to https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/SAPPRFILE/SAPPRFILE 

2) click on “STUDENT APPLICATION” under APPLICANT QUICK LINKS on the left

3) after reviewing Bright Futures Student Handbook, Application Essentials, and Application Checklist, click on “PROCEED TO APPLICATION” REMEMBER ONLY THE RED LETTER QUESTIONS ARE MANDATORY!

4) be sure to carefully enter the following data:

  1. #1 SSN,
  2. #13 county is LEE
  3. #20 LEE
  4. #21 Fort Myers High School
  5. #22 (05-20-17)
  6. #23 scroll to FRESHMAN (FIRST TIME IN COLLEGE) if you have taken no Dual Enrollment classes or FRESHMAN (WITH PREVIOUS COLLEGE) if you have taken Dual Enrollment classes
  7. #24 click on in-state and scroll to college planning to attend
  8. #26 unweighted G.P.A., if don’t know estimate
  9. #34 click NO unless you have been convicted of a FELONY

5) at the bottom after the application is finished click on the yellow SUBMIT/PRINT MY APPLICATION tab, a print screen will come up
6) wait a few seconds and this takes you to a “SAVED RESULTS” page, click the PRINT box and bring this 1-page report to guidance

Guidelines for Volunteer Service Hours

Bright Futures Community Service Form.pdf

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