Class of 2020 has until Dec. 1 to earn qualifying test scores on entrance exams
The state will extend the deadline again for this year’s high school graduates to earn the required minimum scores on college entrance exams, giving students another chance to secure scholarships covering up to 100% of their tuition.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Tuesday that will give Florida students until Dec. 1 to earn the qualifying scores on the SAT and ACT exams. Students and parents had urged the state to give them more time after several test administration sessions were canceled this spring because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Students initially had until June 30 to take the exams. A few weeks before the deadline, the education department extended it until July 31.
But over the summer, many families asked the department to extend the deadline again. While the ACT held testing at a few locations in July, the SAT, which is far more popular with Florida students, did not schedule one until Aug. 29, leaving students who prepared for that exam in the cold.
Not being able to take the SAT again was frustrating for students who were just a few points shy of the scores they needed to win the scholarships, including Dori Gerber’s daughter, who would have missed out on a scholarship covering 75% of her tuition at the University of Central Florida. Jacqui Gerber, who posted strong grades at Lake Brantley High School and logged the required 75 hours of volunteer work, missed the cutoff on the SAT by 10 points. She took the exam again last Saturday, hoping to earn a score high enough to qualify her for the award and for the state to extend the deadline again.
Dori Gerber said Tuesday she was “overjoyed” with the news of the extension, adding that DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran had put “the needs of the 2020 seniors first.”
“So many of them, including my daughter, have worked so incredibly hard throughout their high school careers and now college can be a debt-free reality for
them,” Gerber wrote in a message to the Orlando Sentinel.
For the top Bright Futures award, covering 100% of tuition and fees at state colleges and universities, students need 1290 out of 1600 points on the SAT or 29 out of 36 on the ACT. To qualify for the second-tier scholarship, which covers 75% of tuition and fees, students need at least 1170 points on the SAT or 26 on the ACT. The state anticipated more than 118,000 students would qualify in the coming academic year and had budgeted nearly $652 million for Bright Futures awards. The College Board, which makes the SAT, has scheduled three administration sessions before the Dec. 1 deadline and the ACT has planned sessions this month and next.