You can figure out the total award amount by multiplying the per-credit-hour award by the number of hours you're taking. Like we mentioned above, the Bright Futures program awards a different amount of money to students who are attending a private, in-state college. When you attend a private school, awards are calculated on a per-hour basis just like with the GSV scholars we talked about above. You'll have to do some simple math to figure out how much your award will be worth The award is calculated a little differently if you attend a university that uses the quarter system.
If your school operates with this kind of structure, here's the amount you'll get per hour:. That means you'll need a different formula to figure out how much money you'll be able to put toward your college expenses. The FMS formula looks like this:. With that in mind, here's the amount you'll receive per credit hour if you attend a semester-based institution:.
For more information on how Bright Futures applies to private universities, check out this chart. In addition to eligibility limits which we'll get to shortly , there are some restrictions on how and where you can use Bright Futures scholarship money. You can only use the funds at Florida schools —for more information, you can check this full list of eligible or participating institutions. Now that you know all about the sort of funding you can get with a Bright Futures award, you're probably interested in figuring out if you're eligible.
First, you should determine if you meet the general Bright Futures requirements these apply to all four scholarships :. If you want to learn more and you should , check out our complete guide to Bright Futures requirements. Thankfully, there isn't too much of this involved in submitting a Bright Futures application. You'll be able to streamline the whole application process if you have all the necessary paperwork and materials in order before you begin. Here's everything you'll need to prepare if you want to apply for a Bright Futures scholarship:.
The application typically opens December 1. Fortunately, Florida public high schools automatically submit official transcripts to the Florida Department of Education for Bright Futures evaluation. If your high school doesn't automatically send transcripts, you can ask them to submit yours via email to OFSA. Obviously much later than you would take the tests for college applications, this long window also gives you some extra time to meet score requirements if needed.
At registration, request that your scores be sent to one of Florida's 12 state universities, public community colleges, or public high schools. The scores will automatically be forwarded to the Florida Department of Education repository. The application process should run as smoothly and as automatically as a well-oiled machine. Much of this process is automated, which means you won't have to do much extra work outside of submitting the FFAA and keeping an eye on your application to make sure everything is processed correctly.
Here are all the steps you should take to make sure you submit a complete and successful Bright Futures application:. Remember, this must be submitted by August 31 the year of your high school graduation.
You'll have to take either the ACT or SAT for college applications anyway, so this shouldn't require extra work on your part. Send your scores to a Florida public school as mentioned earlier in this post to ensure that the Florida Department of Education receives them.
If you attend a Florida public high school, your transcript will be automatically submitted for Bright Futures consideration. It's a good idea to check with your guidance counselor to confirm submission, especially if you don't attend a public school. Once you have access to this account, you can use it to manage and monitor different parts of your application. To make sure that your scholarship application is on track, you should:.
For the Early Evaluation timeline , you can get an eligibility determination posted to your online account as early as March. Your transcripts and test scores must be submitted by January For the Final Evaluation timeline , you can get an eligibility determination posted to your online account as early as July. Your transcripts and test scores can be submitted during or after your last high school term. You actually don't get much of a say in how this cash is used which may be a good thing if money tends to burn a hole in your pocket.
Now that you're up to speed on the application process, you'll probably want to know what actually happens with the Bright Futures funding once you get it. You won't receive the money directly. The financial aid office at your school will calculate your award and then disburse funds i. Like we mentioned before, you have to use the funds at an eligible Florida school.
Interested in studying abroad? Your school decides if any Bright Futures funding can be applied to study abroad programs. That means you'll need to check directly with your university's study abroad office for more information. Winning a Bright Futures scholarship could mean that the bulk of your tuition expenses and maybe even some room and board costs would be covered for up to five years. If you're going to submit a Bright Futures application, you'll want to make it count. Here are some strategies to make sure you meet all of those requirements.
If you attend any high school in Florida, you're likely on track to meet all the coursework requirements. If you're in any way concerned, schedule a meeting with a guidance counselor ASAP to see if your schedule needs to be adjusted.
For more information on coursework requirements, see our Bright Futures eligibility guide. If you were homeschooled and don't have a Florida state standard diploma, you still may qualify for a Bright Futures award if you're registered with the district for the current and prior academic year and meet all the general requirements for Bright Futures.
You can also qualify as a GED Diploma recipient see below. The process of applying or qualifying for an award won't be much different than that of a student with a standard high school diploma.
Just keep in mind that your eligibility for a scholarship will be determined in the academic year in which your GED is earned. Be sure to check out the Florida Department of Education's website on the GED for more information about how this equivalency test works. If you're a Florida resident but your parents live out of state, then you still qualify for the Bright Futures scholarship. This is true for renewal, too: if you're a Florida resident and your parents move out of state while you're in college in Florida, you still qualify for the scholarship.
Usually, only Florida residents can qualify for the Florida Bright Futures scholarships not a huge surprise there. If you earned a high school diploma from a non-Florida school while living with a parent or guardian who was on military or public service assignment outside of Florida , you may still be eligible.
Keep in mind, though, that this parent must be a Florida resident. These eligibility qualifications above are tedious, to say the least. One option that the Bright Futures scholarship program offers is an early eligibility evaluation. The scholarship program will begin posting these determinations in July. Now that you know all about the Florida Bright Futures eligibility rules, you can start working on maximizing your chances of winning a scholarship.
Here, I'll go through all the award criteria, giving tips and strategies to meet minimum coursework, GPA, test score, and service hour minimums.
Like I mentioned earlier, most high schools require students to take the courses necessary to qualify for the Bright Futures awards. Test scores might be a sticking point for many students.
Here's what you can do to increase your chances of meeting those minimum scores:. It would not be fun to try to fit in service hours in the few months before high school graduation remember that your service hours all have to be completed before you get your diploma. So how do you stay on track? Need more information on Bright Futures scholarships? Our guide to Bright Futures Scholarship programs answers all the questions you're wondering about.
Ready to get started on your Bright Futures application? Follow our step-by-step guide on Bright Futures applications for all the information you need to create a top-notch application. Interested in more community service ideas?
Check out our guide to great community service projects. You may also be interested in other community service-based scholarships. We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score.
Download it for free now:. Francesca graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and scored in the 99th percentile on the SATs. She's worked with many students on SAT prep and college counseling, and loves helping students capitalize on their strengths.
Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Ask questions; get answers. How to Get a Perfect , by a Perfect Scorer. Score on SAT Math. Score on SAT Reading. Score on SAT Writing. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? How to Get a Perfect 4. How to Write an Amazing College Essay. Pinellas County Schools. Student Services. Bright Futures Community Service. Community Service is defined as identifying a social issue in the community.
This requires students to look beyond themselves and reach out to an issue faced by our society i. The completed hours will be recorded on the students transcript. Volunteer Service is defined as assisting where needed and does not necessarily address a social issue. Although these hours are not recorded on the transcript, students can keep a log of these activities for use when applying for college, job applications, awards and scholarships other than the Bright Futures.
Steps to Follow The following steps are the process for documenting the community service experience. Meet with the community service designee at the student's high school to review policies and procedures on the Student Community Service Information Sheet PCS form Contact the community agency for an interview to discuss the social issue and a plan of action to address the social issue.
Complete form 1 PCS form after developing a detailed identification of the social problem and plan of action. Submit community service form 1 PCS form to the community service designee at the high school for approval. During the summer, students can submit their proposal to ecounselor pcsb.
Log community service hours on form 2 PCS form The agency contact person must sign this documentation.
0コメント