Bright Futures scholarships could permanently grow
College students who are getting a boost in the Bright Futures scholarship program this year could see that become permanent.
A bill filed this week in the Florida Legislature would increase the awards for about 94,000 students statewide who receive the scholarships, which reward Florida high school graduates with good GPAs and test scores.
The proposal from Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, would make permanent the highest award that covers 100 percent of tuition and fees at public universities, about $6,000 annually. Galvano couldn’t be reached for comment.
Students who get the secondtier Medallion Scholar award would receive 75 percent of the cost of tuition and fees next year if the bill is passed.
The changes would take effect for the 2018-2019 school year.
For University of Florida junior Merin Thomas, the larger award means she can load up on courses this year.
“I took a few more credits than I
usually would’ve because I know Bright Futures will cover it for me,” said Thomas, who graduated from Winter Park High School in 2015. “It’s been a really, really big help.”
Thomas, 20, who is studying molecular biology and biochemistry and plans to attend graduate school, said avoiding loans during her undergraduate career is important to her.
About 15,000 students at the University of Central Florida, Valencia College and Seminole State College are receiving Bright Futures awards this fall.
Gov. Rick Scott in June vetoed the higher-education reform bill, which included the permanent Bright Future increases. In explaining his veto, Scott said he supported the scholarship award increases, but he thought other
parts of the bill would impede progress at Florida’s 28 state colleges, formerly known as community colleges.
But this year, students who receive the top Academic Scholars award are receiving the full cost of their tuition and fees because of a oneyear bump in funding for the program in the state’s budget. In previous years, students in the top tier received scholarships that covered about half of their tuition and fees.
Offering more scholarship money to students might encourage them to attend college or go directly to a fouryear university instead of starting at a state college, said Savannah Kirwan, a 22-year-old engineering student at the University of Florida, which has disbursed $55.3 million in Bright Futures scholarships to more than 22,000 students for the fall semester.
“The Bright Futures is an extremely helpful award, and I think, personally, increasing
the award would be beneficial,” said Kirwan, who graduated from Timber Creek High School in 2013.
Now in her last year of school, Kirwan said Bright Futures will pay for all of her tuition and fees this semester. But earlier in her college years, the scholarship only paid half, even though she received the top award.
Students eligible for the Medallion Scholar award would receive about $4,500 per year. Students with this award now receive about $2,300 per year.
To receive the top Bright Futures award, students must earn a weighted high school GPA of 3.5 and score at least 1290 on the SAT or 29 on the ACT. Students must earn a weighted high school GPA of 3.0 and score at least 1170 on the SAT or 26 on the ACT to receive the second-tier award. The additional money for the second-tier award recipients would be a help for Russell Hardy’s daughter,
who is starting her sophomore year at the University of Florida. He said the 2016 Winter Park High School graduate missed getting the top award by 10 points on the SAT and worked over the summer to make up the difference of about $3,400.
Hardy said he used the Florida Prepaid plan to pay for his daughter’s education, but if she receives additional scholarship money next year, she could use the savings to
help pay for her room and board. “It’s a big deal,” Hardy said. Galvano’s bill also calls for universities to adopt block tuition policies, which require undergraduates to pay a flat tuition rate per semester, rather than be billed based on the current credit-hour basis. The controversial plan, part of a multipronged higher education bill that Scott vetoed last year, is intended to encourage students to take an
average of 15 credit hours per semester, which is required to graduate within four years.
It also would expand a matching grant program for first-generation college students to include the state colleges, establishes a program to help universities recruit faculty and increases access to internships and jobs.