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Out-Of-State Applicants
Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program
State Scholarships and Grants
Office of Student Financial Assistance
Florida Department of Education
Eligibility criteria for a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship includes a standard Florida high school diploma, unless
the student earns a high school diploma from a non-Florida school while living with a parent or guardian who is on
military or public service assignment away from Florida. (Section 1009.531 (1) (b), Florida Statutes.) In addition,
students must meet the general requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.
Public service assignment is defined as the occupational assignment
of a Florida resident employed by the United States Government or State of Florida, who as a condition of
employment, is relocated to work outside the state of Florida. (This does not include companies who
contract with the U.S. or Florida governments.) A student whose parent or guardian is on public service
assignment may reside with either natural parent or another adult designated by either natural parent or guardian.
The documentation listed below is required (no substitutions) for Bright Futures initial eligibility
evaluation of students who graduate from a high school outside of Florida:
Note: Documentation required for Bright Futures:
- Have one parent who is a Florida resident and is serving active duty in the military or public
service assignment during the student's last year of high school.
- Initial Student Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA). Submit a completed FFAA
online at www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org
during the last year in high school (after December 1st of the last year and prior to graduation) or call toll-free
at 1-888-827-2004 to request a hardcopy application form. The application gives the Florida Department of
Education (FDOE) permission to evaluate the student's high school transcript(s) for eligibility for a Florida
Bright Futures Scholarship.
- NEW - The submission of a Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA) is now an annual requirement for Bright Futures eligibility. Note: The student’s FAFSA
does not have to indicate need; however, must be complete and processed error free prior to a student’s first
disbursement of an award. (The Florida State Programs May 15 deadline does not apply to Bright Futures.)
Visit the website at www.fafsa.ed.gov for online processing.
- Full official high school transcript. Provide official transcript(s) showing all high
school coursework attempted. A student's transcript (including courses in progress for the final semester) and other
documentation may be submitted to the FDOE after the first semester of the last year has been completed. FDOE may evaluate
the student's eligibility and provide official notification of award status prior to graduation. If the student's award
status can be improved by including additional information from the final term of the last year, the student's transcript
may be resubmitted following graduation.
Students may visit www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org/SSFAD/bf/acadrequire.htm
to view the academic requirements for the Florida Academic Scholars and Florida Medallion
Scholars awards. The 16 required credits for an FAS
or an FMS award,
must be approved by FDOE as college preparatory. Parental transcripts of home-educated students are
not accepted as official transcripts (see "Home-Educated OOS Students" below).
- SAT, ACT, or CPT test scores. Test scores of tests taken through the end of June of the
student's last year in high school will be admissible for a Bright Futures evaluation. The SAT and ACT
scores can be used to qualify for all three awards: Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) award, Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) award ,
and the Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV) award. Submit scores to FDOE in one of the following
ways (preferably the first):
- Request the test scores be sent to one of Florida’s 11 state universities when the student registers for
the SAT or ACT. These scores will be sent to the FDOE repository.
- Submit test scores on the high school transcript.
- Include the official copy (no photocopies) of the test scores in the original sealed envelope with this
documentation. Official CPT test scores, which are only used for the GSV award evaluation and
are only given at Florida Colleges, must be sent directly to FDOE in a sealed envelope.
| Note: PERT availability to be announced. Until the FDOE approves PERT eligible scores, take
the SAT, ACT, or CPT at your location. |
- Proof of active duty military
- Copy of current first of the month Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) - REQUIRED from any month
of the student’s last year in high school,
- Copy of Military Orders to current location - if requested by the Office of
Student Financial Assistance (OSFA),
OR
- Proof of public service assignment
- Copy of current first of the month Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) from any month of
the student’s last year in high school to confirm public service assignment
with U.S. Government – REQUIRED if the parent is employed with the U.S. Government, or
OR
- Copy of current State of Florida Employee Earnings Statement from any
month of the student’s last year in high school to confirm public service assignment with
state of Florida - REQUIRED if the parent is employed with the state of Florida, and
- Copy of letter of appointment to current location (if requested by OSFA).
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Declaration of Florida Residency (click here to download form). The student's postsecondary
institution will determine Florida residency for funding purposes. It is possible for a student to meet initial
eligibility criteria to earn a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship, but if the institution determines the student is
not a Florida resident, the student will not receive Bright Futures funding.
Include a copy of one of 4 documents below to indicate Florida residency (must be parental document):
- State of Legal Residence Certificate (Form DD-2058 for military
personnel, available from base personnel offices),
Or
- Enlistment/Reenlistment Document (Form DD4/1 for military personnel, available from base personnel offices),
Or
- Driver's license or voter's registration (current and at least one year old) along with a signed
Declaration of Florida Residency form,
Or
- Proof of property ownership with a homestead exemption, along with a signed Declaration of Florida Residency form.
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- Proof of Dependency. Show proof of dependency, provided through a copy of a
recent (less than 1 year old) parental tax return. (cover sheet listing dependents only)
- NEW - Documentation of community service hours.
To qualify for
an award, a student must complete community service hours during high
school, by high school graduation. Each award requires the following
completed and approved community service hours:
- FAS – 100 hours
- FMS – 75 hours
- GSV – 30 hours
- The agency or agencies where the community service hours were earned must provide documentation of
the number of hours and dates of service completed on agency letterhead.
Please mail the above documentation to:
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Florida Department of Education
Office of Student Financial Assistance
Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program
325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1314
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
Attn: Ms. Jacque Hunt
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Home Educated OOS Students
Out-of-state students whose parents are serving in the military or are on public service assignment
outside the state of Florida and who are home educated must provide the above documentation, except
transcripts, in addition to the following:
- Documentation to show compliance with the home education requirements of the state (or local
authority if outside the United States) in which they were home schooled, for grades 11 and 12.
AND
- Test scores must meet the same minimum requirements of Florida home education students qualifying
for a FAS or FMS award.
NOTE: When applying as a home-educated student, the test score requirement for each scholarship is as follows:
FAS award - A best combined score of 1270 SAT (excluding the writing section) or 28 ACT (excluding the writing section)
FMS award -
- A best combined score of 1070 SAT (excluding the writing section) or 23 ACT (excluding the
writing section)
Or
- NEW - A best combined score of 980 SAT
(excluding the writing section) or 21 ACT (excluding the
writing section) with a weighted 3.0 GPA in the
required 16 college preparatory credits. The 16
credits must be approved by FDOE as college preparatory and documented through official public/private
high school or college dual enrollment transcripts. Parental transcripts of home- educated students
are not accepted.
GED OOS Students
Out-of-state students whose parents are serving in the military or are on public service assignment outside the
State of Florida and who earn an out-of-state GED must meet the scholarship curriculum and grade point average
requirements before taking the GED exam. This coursework is to be documented through
official public/private high school or college dual enrollment transcripts. Parental transcripts of home-educated
students are not accepted.
The minimum SAT or ACT test score must be achieved by June 30th of the academic year in which the GED is
earned. Students may visit www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org/SSFAD/bf/acadrequire.htm
to view the academic requirements for the FAS and FMS awards. Eligibility for a
scholarship will be determined in the academic year in which the GED is earned. Funding will begin the fall
term of the next academic year.
The website at www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org/ssfad/bf/ provides detailed Florida Bright Futures
Scholarship Program information, including initial eligibility requirements. Please keep in mind that
the student's initial scholarship eligibility
cannot be improved upon after high school graduation. Questions may be directed to our office
at OSFA@fldoe.org or toll-free at 1-888-827-2004.
For Additional Scholarship Information Contact:
The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program
Toll-Free at 1-888-827-2004
Visit the Office of Student Financial Assistance website at
www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org
E-mail: OSFA@fldoe.org
Fax: 850-487-1809
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