Out-of-State Applicants
Florida Residents Graduating from a High School Outside Florida

1. Meet the general requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.



2. Have one parent who is a Florida resident and is A) serving active duty in the military or B) on public service assignment away from Florida (see above) during the student's last year of high school.



3. Submit a completed Initial Student Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) online 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 – An eligible student who graduates mid-year may receive an initial award in the spring term following the student’s graduation. The FFAA must be submitted by August 31 of the student’s graduation year (prior to the spring term enrolled).


4. Submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) annually 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.)



5. Submit official high school 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 view the academic requirements for the Florida Academic Scholars and Florida Medallion Scholars awards on the respective pages.  The 16 required credits for an FAS or 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).



6. Submit SAT, ACT, or PERT test scores.  Test scores of tests taken through the end of June (no later than January 31 for mid-year graduates) 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):
   1. Request the test scores be sent to a Florida public state university or state college when the student registers for the SAT or ACT.  These scores will be sent to the FDOE repository.
   2. Submit test scores on the high school transcript.
   3. Mail the official copy (no photocopies) of the test scores in the original sealed envelope to the address below.  Official PERT 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.



7. Submit documentation for OOS assignment
   
   
   • Proof of active duty military
     1. Copy of Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) - REQUIRED from any month of the student’s last year in high school, AND
     2. Copy of Military Orders to current location (if requested by the Office of Student Financial Assistance [OSFA])
     
     
     
   • Proof of public service assignment
     1. Copy of 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
     2. Copy of 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
     3. Copy of letter of appointment to current location, if requested by OSFA (DD1614 or a company human resource statement on company letterhead).



8. Submit Declaration of Florida Residency (click here to download form).  Include a copy of one of the four 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);
   • Enlistment/Reenlistment Document (Form DD4/1 for military personnel, available from base personnel offices);
   • Florida driver's license or Florida voter's registration (current and at least one year old);
   • Proof of Florida property ownership with a homestead exemption.
   
   
   
   Note:  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.



9. Submit Proof of Dependency, provided through a copy of a recent (less than 1 year old) parental tax return (cover sheet listing dependents only).



10. Submit Documentation of community service hours.  To qualify for an award, a student must complete community service hours during high school, by high school graduation.  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.
    
    Each award requires the following completed and approved community service hours:
    1. FAS – 100 hours
    2. FMS – 75 hours
    3. GSV – 30 hours

Please mail the above documentation to:

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 1280 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

  • A best combined score of 1020 SAT (excluding the writing section) or 22 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