Bright Futures Applications
By Vio Levrini
Talking about “Bright Futures” is very common around Nease High School. There is almost no doubt that you have not heard of it if you are a student at Nease. On October 1st, applications for Bright Futures opened. But what exactly is Bright Futures, and why is it important to know about?
Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program offers several scholarships in hopes of creating more accessible opportunities for promising students. With the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), over 1 million high school students have received scholarships for further education thanks to the Florida Lottery. There is a total of four different scholarships, each each designed to help students in different ways.
The Florida Academic Scholarship (FAS) and Florida Medallion Scholarship (FMS) are merit-based scholarships intended to help students with funding for postsecondary education. The Golden Seal Cape Scholarship (GSC) and Gold Seal Vocational Scholarships (GSV) can help fund technical degree programs or career certifications. Each of these scholarships all have their own requirements, including submitting your Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) to see eligibility.
Bright Futures is an important thing to consider applying for if you plan to continue your education at a Florida university. Along with saving money, eligible students prove that they are responsible, disciplined, and resourceful, all being traits that school look for in students today. Many teachers and counselors highly encourage students to apply for Bright Futures scholarships as well, even if they don’t plan to use them.
To apply, students must first go to the Florida Student Scholarship & Grant Programs website and create a student profile using their Social Security Number and contact information. Then, they must create a student account in the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) and submit a completed Florida Financial Aid Application to check scholarship eligibility. Once that is completed, students then must complete any coursework or requirements needed to apply. For example, FAS requires 100 volunteer hours to be submitted in order to be eligible. After all that has been completed, students must monitor their application and award status in the OSFA to check for any communication.
Starting now until August 31st of your graduating year, you have the opportunity to fulfil the application process, and take advantage of this generous opportunity. And as such an important and encouraging thing in the Nease community, it is something to consider.
Sources:
“Home – Florida Student Scholarship & Grant Programs.” n.d. Www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org. https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/SAPHome/SAPHome?url=home.
“Home – Florida Student Scholarship & Grant Programs.” n.d. Www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org. https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/SAPHome/SAPHome?url=home.
