Bright Futures- What You Need to Know

Bright Futures- What You Need to Know

Bright Futures is often the hope for many students looking to cover college expenses when attending an in-state school, but what is and isn’t covered and how to qualify is important to distinguish and not necessarily clear to all those who apply.

There are varying levels of Bright futures, each with their own separate qualification requirements. Particularly the Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) Scholarship which covers 100% of tuition, and the Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) Scholarship that covers 75% of tuition. To qualify for the FAS Scholarship, a student must have at least a 3.5 weighted GPA, a 1330 SAT score or an ACT score of 29, and either 100 volunteer hours or 100 paid work hours. The FMS Scholarship covers less, leading to slightly more lenient requirements: 3.0 weighted GPA, 1210 SAT or 25 ACT scores and either 75 volunteer hours or 100 paid work hours.

Students hear “100% tuition coverage” and assume that means absolutely everything is covered, but that is in fact not the case. Bright Futures covers “…activity and service fee, health fee, athletic fee, financial aid fee, capital improvement fee, campus access/transportation fee, technology fee and tuition differential fee.” according to www.sfa.ufl.edu. This scholarship covers most of your college expenses, but what often fails to be addressed among the list of things that are paid for, is what does not get paid for. Room and Board, as well as college textbooks are not covered by the Bright Futures Scholarship in any capacity and this can raise a concern for some students and families. Housing at University of Florida is $6,350 on average every year, and books and supplies cost an average of $810 annually; not cheap. “I had absolutely no idea, I didn’t remember being told any of this until finding out recently” said senior Sophia Lipinski.

Bright Futures is an incredibly useful tool for aspiring college students to make tuition as affordable as possible. It is important to understand not only how to qualify, but what is covered and how to respond to the costs accordingly. Maximize your success by being as informed and prepared as possible for your future.