• Dear 12th Grade Students and Parents,

    Below I will highlight very important information regarding the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. I encourage all seniors to apply for the scholarship now regardless if you currently meet the requirements because it is a live application which means that it will reflect your updated GPA, services hours and test scores throughout the school year. Please take the time to carefully read the information and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

    The Bright Futures Handbook states the following concerning the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA):

    1. Students must APPLY for the scholarship by submitting the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) no later than August 31 after high school graduation. If a student does not apply for the scholarship by the deadline, a student cannot receive the scholarship! All eligibility requirements must be met by high school graduation; however, scores of ACT®/SAT®/P.E.R.T. tests taken through June 30 are accepted for evaluation purposes.
    2. After submitting the FFAA, the student is responsible for tracking application and award status online and keeping the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) informed of any demographic or institutional changes. Students are responsible for ensuring that funding for an academic year is accurate by contacting their institution’s financial aid office.
    3. The Bright Futures Scholarship will renew automatically each year (up to the scholarship limit) if the student maintains the required GPA and earns the required credit hours. See Chapter 3: ‘Renewal Eligibility’ for more details.

    The Bright Futures Handbook states the following concerning Notification of Eligibility:

    Early Evaluations (7th Semester) – Postings may begin in March

    • All students whose transcripts are submitted electronically to FDOE for an official early evaluation (based on academic progress in the middle of the last year of high school and test scores for tests taken by January 31) will receive an eligibility or ineligibility determination, with the award status notification posted to their online account.
    • Students cannot lose an award based on early evaluation unless they fail to earn a standard Florida high school diploma from a Florida public or FDOE-registered private high school.

    Final Evaluations (8th Semester) – Postings may begin in July

    • All students whose final transcripts are submitted following the student’s last term in high school will receive an award status notification (eligibility or ineligibility determination) posted to their online account.

    NOTE:  Students awarded an AICE Diploma will receive notifications of eligibility determination in early fall after a list of AICE Diploma recipients has been received from the respective organization. Public high schools automatically send student transcripts to FDOE for Bright Futures evaluations.

    The Process

    The award (or ineligibility) determination will be posted to a student's online Financial Aid Recipient History (FARH) screen and is viewable by the student. The FARH shows the following information

    • Award status (eligibility determination);
    • Demographic information;
    • Postsecondary institution;
    • Amount disbursed each semester;
    • Spring renewal GPA;
    • Hours remaining for the year and for the scholarship; and
    • Correspondence posted and/or sent from FDOE.

    The Bright Futures Handbook states the following concerning College Entrance Exams:

    • Students will be evaluated based on official test scores from the FDOE repository. To ensure OSFA obtains official test scores:
      • Ensure demographics on your test registration and high school transcript match; and
      • Request your official test scores be sent to one of Florida’s 12 state universities when registering for the ACT®/SAT®.

    Below you will find several useful links/resources regarding the Bright Futures Scholarship Program.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Sincerely,

    Ashley Colon

    BRACE Advisor

     

    Phone: 754-323-0518

    Email: ashley.colon@browardschools.com