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• Florida Legislative Session 2009 Updates and Legislative History

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• Important Notice Regarding Changes to Your Florida Bright Futures Scholarship
• First-Time Applicants
• Initially Awarded Student Information Page
• Renewal Students
• Required Hours for Renewal
• Eligible Colleges and Schools
• Award Amounts
• Summer Funding
• Frequently Asked Questions

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• High School Guidance Counselors
• Resources for Postsecondary Institutions
• Comprehensive Course Table

Restoration Requirements for Bright Futures - (One-Time Opportunity)

Restoration Requirements for Bright Futures Scholarships

A student is a restoration student if he/she:

• did not meet the GPA renewal requirement during a prior renewal evaluation period, but met the GPA requirement in a subsequent renewal evaluation period.  If a student's cumulative GPA (unrounded and unweighted), as reported by the home postsecondary institution, was less than a 2.75 and he/she was ineligible for funding, the student may apply for restoration in an academic year after the 2.75 cumulative GPA requirement is met.  (The 2.75 GPA must be met before the fall term for which the student is applying.)
  or
• did not meet the minimum credit hours requirement during a prior renewal evaluation period, lost his/her eligibility for renewal for one academic year (or more), and has earned the required hours to restore the award.  A student may apply for restoration the following academic year after the required hours are earned (for which he/she was enrolled at the level defined by the department) and the required GPA for restoration has been met (available to students not meeting the hours requirement in the 2009-10 academic year and thereafter).
  or
• was initially eligible for an FAS award, dropped to FMS award eligibility for one year or more, met the FAS requirement in a subsequent renewal evaluation period, and is once again eligible for FAS funding.  No application is required.

A student may only restore his/her scholarship once.

To Apply for Restoration:

• To request restoration, a student must complete a Reinstatement/Restoration Application available on the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) Web site at www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org by selecting State Grants, Scholarships & Applications, Apply Here, and then Reinstatement/Restoration Application for Students (or use the direct link above).  Please note that the academic year for which a student is applying must be selected at the time of application.  New applications are available in February each year
• In addition to the application, the financial aid office at the Florida postsecondary institution where the student last attended as degree- or certificate-seeking must certify online the postsecondary institutional cumulative GPA that will determine his/her eligibility to restore.
• A student who last attended an out-of-state postsecondary institution must request that his/her official transcripts be submitted to:  Florida Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance, Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, Suite 70, 1940 North Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32303-4759.
• OSFA recommends that applications be submitted online by July 1 for a timely fall disbursement or by December 15 for a belated fall or timely spring disbursement.  The deadline for submission of 2009-10 academic year restoration applications is May 30, 2010.

Note: Funding is not available to a student prior to restoring the scholarship nor is it retroactive for prior years

Bright Futures Restoration Requirements

***Note:  Beginning with the 2009-10 academic year, a student must earn at least 24 semester credit hours (or the equivalent) if enrolled full time for the entire academic year.  A student enrolled full time (12 or more semester hours or the equivalent) for only one term must earn at least 12 semester hours for that term.  If a student is enrolled part time for any part of the academic year, the student must earn a prorated number of credit hours.

• A student enrolled three-quarter time (9-11 semester hours or the equivalent) for a term must earn at least 9 semester hours for that term.
• A student enrolled half-time (6-8 semester hours or the equivalent) for a term must earn at least 6 semester hours for that term.
• See also, Required Hours for Renewal.

Restoration of a Florida Academic Scholars award renewed as a Florida Medallion Scholars award due to receipt of a 2.75 - 2.99 cumulative GPA.

• A student has a one-time opportunity to restore his/her scholarship.
• Each subsequent renewal period, a renewing student will automatically be evaluated for restoration to the Florida Academic Scholars award if the student's cumulative GPA is reported by the home postsecondary institution at the minimum required 3.0 or above.  No application is required.
• Funding will then be available to the student at the Florida Academic Scholars award level beginning in the fall of the upcoming academic year.  This will be the one-time restoration opportunity.
• A Florida Academic Scholar who loses the scholarship and then restores to a Florida Medallion Scholar (and accepts funding as a Florida Medallion Scholar), may not be awarded a second restoration to his/her original Florida Academic Scholarship level.