The Bright Futures Scholarship Program is the primary way Florida distributes college and university scholarships to students, so high school students—and their parents—should make sure they understand exactly what they need to accomplish to be eligible.
What is the Bright Futures Scholarship Program?
The Bright Futures Scholarship is exclusively for students from Florida high schools attending Florida colleges, universities, and other post-secondary education.
Bright Futures scholarships are mostly split into Florida Academic Scholars and the Florida Medallion Scholars. Florida Academic Scholars receive funding for 100% of their tuition and miscellaneous fees, and Florida Medallion Scholars receive funding for 75% of their tuition and miscellaneous fees. Neither scholarship covers room and board.
Basic requirements
The requirements for the Bright Future Scholarships are relatively straightforward: students must graduate with a certain GPA, standardized test score, and number of volunteer or work hours.
The Bright Futures Program looks at students’ GPAs in their non-elective classes: four years of English, four years of math, three years of natural science, three years of social science, and either two years of a language or proficiency demonstrated by exam. Academic Scholars must achieve at least a 3.50 weighted GPA, whereas Medallion Scholars must achieve at least a 3.00. Advanced courses, including AP, IB, AICE, and Honors, receive an additional 0.50 points.
The Bright Futures Program accepts any one of the ACT, CLT, or SAT. For students graduating in 2025, Academic Scholars must achieve a composite score of at least 29 on the ACT, 96 on the CLT, or 1340 on the SAT. Medallion Scholars need at least 25 on the ACT, 84 on the CLT, or 1210 on the SAT. Students can take as many tests as they like and use sub-test scores from different dates to reach the target composite score. The thresholds change slightly from year to year, so younger students should make sure to double-check what they’re aiming for at the start of their test-prep process.
Lastly, Academic Scholars need to complete 100 hours of volunteer service and paid work in any combination, whereas Medallion Scholars need to complete either 75 hours of volunteer service only or 100 hours of paid work and volunteer service in any combination. Students should ask their schools about how to document their hours and which activities are eligible.
How to apply
Students apply for the Bright Futures Program by submitting the Florida Financial Aid Application. The deadline is August 31st following students’ high school graduation, but students can start submitting their transcripts for an official early evaluation as soon as their 7th semester. Students graduating before January 31st of their senior year who intend to start college or university in the spring must submit their application by December 31st.
Corner cases
There are four ways a student can bypass the GPA and test score requirements: they can win a National Merit Finalist award, a National Hispanic Recognition Program award, an AICE diploma, or an IB diploma. Students who are homeschooled also have makeshift requirements.
The Bright Futures Program offers two other types of scholarships: the Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award for high school students in a career education or certificate program and the Gold Seal CAPE Scholars award for students working towards CAPE industry certifications.
Resources
Florida Financial Aid Application website
Official Bright Futures Program eligibility document
List of eligible postsecondary schools
