Bright Futures Scholarship Program

Bright Futures is the name of a scholarship program in the state of Florida. It is funded by the Florida Lottery and was first started in 1997.

Program

The "Bright Futures" program allows Florida high school seniors with academic merit to earn a scholarship to any public college in the state. This scholarship does not apply if the student chooses to attend college outside the state of Florida. Many private colleges in Florida offer students paid tuition if he or she is a "Bright Futures" recipient.

A certain SAT score or ACT score is required to earn a "Bright Futures" scholarship.

A score of 1270 on the SAT or a score of 28 on the ACT to get 100% of a student's tuition paid.

Summer semesters are currently not eligible for bright futures funding.

Notes

1. The GPA used to calculate for Bright Futures eligibility is not the same as what a high school student might have for his or her current GPA. The GPA is calculated by just using the "core classes" which are the classes that are required for graduation.For the state of Florida, the requirement for high school graduation are:
*4 credits of English
*3 credits of Math (Algebra I and above)
*3 credits of Science
*1 credit of American History
*1 credit of World History
*1 credit of Practical/Performing Arts
*.5 credit of American Government
*.5 credit of Economics
*.5 credit of Personal Fitness
*.5 credit of Physical Education Elective
*.5 credit of Health / Life Management Skills2. Just like the Gold Seal Vocational Scholars Award, the high school GPA is calculated by "core classes" but the core classes are different from the Gold Seal Vocational Scholars Award. This is the curriculum which the GPA is calculated from:
*4 credits of English
*3 credits of Math (Algebra I and above)
*3 credits of Science (2 with lab)
*3 credits of Social Science
*2 credits of the same Foreign Language3. Criteria for GPA is the same as the criteria for the Florida Medallion Scholars Award.

External links

* [http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/ssfad/home/uamain.htm Bright Futures website]