What is Florida Bright Futures?
- The Bright Futures program allows Florida high school seniors with significant academic merit to earn a scholarship to any public college/university in the state. It also offers the same funds to students attending a private college in Florida. This scholarship does not apply if the student chooses to attend college outside the state of Florida and the scholarship may only be earned while in high school.
How do I qualify?
- You must meet specific GPA, SAT/ACT test score, and community service requirements. If the needed qualifications are met, this is a guaranteed scholarship. Please note, students will be signing up for Bright Futures with their counselors after October of their Senior year.
Florida Academic Scholars
- Must have a 3.5 weighted GPA
- 100 documented hours of community service
- A 1330 SAT (reading and math only) OR a 29 ACT composite score
- For Students in the graduating class of 2021 and beyond will need to score a 1330 SAT (reading and math only)
- 100% of tuition and fees for fall, spring and summer semesters and an additional $300 per semester (fall and spring only) for books
Florida Medallion Scholars
- Must have a 3.0 weighted GPA
- 75 documented hours of community service
- A 1200 SAT (reading and math only) OR a 26 ACT composite score
- For Students in the graduating class of 2021 and beyond will need to score a 1200 SAT (reading and math only)
- $77 per credit hour at a 4-year institution/$63 per credit hour at a 2-year institution
Florida Gold Seal Vocational
- Must have a 3.0 weighted GPA
- Must complete 3 credits in a single career technical education program
- Must have 3.5 unweighted GPA in the career technical education classes
- Must meet the minimum test score requirements
- SAT – Reading 440 Math 440
- ACT – English 17 Reading 19 Math 19
- PERT – Reading 106 Writing 103 Math 114
Florida Gold Seal CAPE
- Earn a minimum of 5 postsecondary credit hours through CAPE industry certifications that articulate for
college credit - Complete at least 30 service hours.
Requirements for 2020-2021 Graduates
| SCHOLARSHIP | WEIGHTED GPA MINIMUM | ACT MINIMUM | SAT MINIMUM | SERVICE HOURS |
| FAS | 3.50 | 29 | 1330 | 100 hours |
| FMS | 3.00 | 25 | 1210 | 75 hours |
Superscores
The good news is that the Bright Futures scholarship uses a superscore. Superscores take the highest section scores from each test you submit in order to create the highest possible cumulative score for one particular exam type. (Quick note: you can’t combine a section score from the ACT and another section score from the SAT since they’re not the same exam types. You can, however, combine scores from three or four different SAT
Let’s take a closer look at superscoring. For example, Dominique has taken the SAT two times. Here are his scores from each test:
- SAT Test 1
- Math: 500
- EBRW: 740
- Composite: 1140
- SAT Test 2
- Math: 550
- EBRW: 640
- Composite: 1190
The Bright Futures scholarship uses a superscore, which is a combination of Dominique’s two highest subject test scores (even though he took the test twice on two separate occasions). That means Dominque’s superscore is the combination of 550 (Math) and 740 (EBRW), which gives him a cumulative superscore of 1290.
So in this case, a superscore is the difference between qualifying for an FMS scholarship and an FAS scholarship—which can save you thousands of dollars in college tuition!
A few other important notes:
- You’ll only need to submit scores from one standardized test—you don’t need to meet score requirements for both the SAT and the ACT
- The SAT/ACT minimums do not include the writing section.
- All SATs/ACTs must be completed by June 30 of the year of your high school graduation (or by January 31 if you graduate mid-year)
- All service hours must be completed by your high school graduation in order to count toward the award
- If you don’t meet the minimum standardized test requirements for a Bright Futures scholarship before the June 30 deadline, you can still qualify for a Bright Futures scholarship. You can keep taking the test until you get the score you need, then apply for the scholarship through the reinstatement program. Just keep in mind you have to do this within five years of your high school graduation date!
Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV) Requirements
The GSV program is a bit less competitive in terms of its academic eligibility requirements than the FAS or FMS programs. Although this makes it a great fit for some students, keep in mind that the GSV award can only be used to fund a career education or certificate program—no four year college degrees.
In order to qualify for the GSV program, you must meet all of the following criteria:
- Must have a minimum weighted 3.0 GPA in non-elective high school courses
- Must complete 30 service hours by high school graduation
- Must take at least three full credits in a single career and technical education program
- Must achieve a minimum 3.5 unweighted GPA in your career education classes
- Must achieve the minimum score on the ACT, SAT, or P.E.R.T. test (see below)
If you’ve taken both the SAT and the ACT, you unfortunately can’t mix and match section subscores between the two tests to meet minimums; you can, however, superscore across multiple test dates for the same test. (See the section above for more details.) All minimums must be met for either the SAT or ACT…but ultimately, you only have to take either the SAT or the ACT, not both!
This chart outlines GSV test score minimums:
| EXAM TYPE | SUBTEST | REQUIRED SCORE |
| ACT | Reading | 19 |
| English | 17 | |
| Mathematics | 19 | |
| SAT | Reading Test | 24 |
| Writing and Language Test | 25 | |
| Math Test | 24 | |
| P.E.R.T. | Reading | 106 |
| Writing | 103 | |
| Mathematics | 114 |
Gold Seal CAPE Scholars (GSC)
The Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars program, or GSC, is awarded to students who are enrolled in career education or career certificate programs that earn associates degrees and want to continue on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree. To qualify for the GSC, you must:
- Earn a minimum of five postsecondary credit hours through CAPE industry certifications (that count toward college credit)
- Complete 30 service hours
Students who meet these requirements can earn funding for a maximum of 60 credit hours put toward earning a Bachelors of Science degree or a Bachelors of Applied Science degree.
Please visit the Bright Futures Website for more information.
http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/ssfad/bf/
Bright Futures Presentation