Every student has been raised with the notion that getting Bright Futures is their moral duty, their teleology and basically job in life. For some it’s a prideful honor and for others it’s the deciding factor if they will attend their dream college or not. However, students are drowning in the stress of receiving the scholarship and are now questioning if it’s worth it. The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program establishes three lottery-funded scholarships to reward Florida high school graduates for high academic achievement. 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.

The program is divided into 3 types of grant, Florida Academic Scholars (FAS, Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) and Florida Gold Seal Vocational (GSV) scholars programs. A SAT score of 1290 (counting only the critical reading and mathematics sections) or ACT composite score of 29, minimum weighted high school academic GPA of 3.5 and 100 hours of community service is required to earn a FAS Award. However, many students do not know that the required GPA of 3.5 is not calculated in the same manner as Seminole County. Evaluation for Bright Futures includes an unrounded, weighted high school GPA (calculated to two decimal places) in the 16 college-preparatory credits. Meaning your easy “A” classes, such as food prep, will not be counted, which puts your fate in the hands of your core academic classes.

Over the years, the requirements to earn FAS have been raised. In just a few years the required SAT score went from a 1270 to a 1290 and the ACT score went from a 28 to a 29. In correlation to the scholarship requirements, the reward, aka money, has decreased. Senior Katie Langley shared her frustration by saying ,“The stress of trying to get FAS is not worth what you get back.” FAS gives eligible high school graduates $103 a semester per credit hour. Senior Jake Garber was recently rudely awakened to this realization and shared that his mom always pushed him to receive the scholarship because it gives you around $300 a semester per credit hour. Well yes, Mrs. Garber was correct- a few years ago. Every year the awarded scholarship money decreases. The Scholarship is solely funded by lottery proceeds, meaning, families that before could count on tuition, fees and books being covered are now paying for books and fees and over half of tuition. A University of South Florida analysis predicted that the new Bright Futures standards would benefit far fewer students — the total number of college freshmen getting scholarships at state universities would drop by about half, from 30,954 to 15,711. In a picture perfect world the stress to get FAS would decrease while the awarded money skyrocketed but in the meantime it should be a personal drive and goal to receive the Florida Bright Future’s Scholarship. Money is money and even a little can save you lots.