Changes to Bright Future Scholarship Award Amounts
According to the General Appropriations Act (GAA) there is no longer a BOOK ALLOWANCE for the Academic Scholars and NO ADDITIONAL FEES may be included in any Bright Futures award. The changed award amounts are based on the amount per credit hour vs fixed amounts:
New Per Credit Amounts:
FL Academic Scholars: $126.00
FL Medallion/Vocational Gold Seal: $95.00
Changes to Scholarship Renewal Criteria
Minimum Earned Hours Required PER TERM for Renewal:
Full time Students funded for 12+ hours must earn at least 12 credits for that term
Three-Quarter time students funded 9-11 hours must earn at least 9 credits for that term
Half-Time students funded 6-8 hours must earn at least 6 credits for that term
Dropped Class Repayment Requirement
If a student drops or withdraws from a course(s) after the official add/drop period, then the student will be financially responsible for those courses. The student will be placed on accounts receivable and will be required to repay these funds to the university within two (2) weeks of dropping a course. The amount will be based on $126 for Fl Academic Scholars and $95 for Fl Medallion/ Gold Seal Scholars.
Minimum Earned Hours Required PER TERM for Renewal:Example: If a student drops a 3 credit course, multiply 3 by the amount per credit (depending on their award).
FL Academic Scholars: 3 x $126 = $378
Medallion/Gold Seal Vocational: 3 x $95 = $285
Additional Bright Futures Scholarship Information
The initial Bright Future Scholarship award on your Financial Aid Notice (FAN) is an "estimate based on 15 credits of enrollment " and will be adjusted to your actual enrollment after ADD/DROP period each semester.
Please review the following chart below as a guide to assist in determining your scholarship award based on your actual enrollment by the number of credits. FALL 2009 BRIGHT FUTURES AWARD CHART | FL MEDALLION VOC GOLD SEAL | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A maximum of 45 credits may be funded in one academic year. Bright Futures covers Fall/Spring Only. Bright Futures is not available for Summer semesters. The Bright Futures Scholarships will cover up to 132 credit hours toward the completion of a Bachelor's degree for Fl Academic or Medallion and 90 credit hours for Vocation Gold Seal recipients. Note: Special fees for on-line courses are not covered by the Bright Futures Scholarship.
Students must enroll at least half-time in order for scholarship to disburse. Graduate Courses may only be covered by scholarship (at the undergraduate tuition rate) if they are needed to earn a bachelor’s. In this case, students must submit a dept memo to our Financial Aid Office indicating that the graduate class that they registered for that semester (ex: PAD 6123) is needed to earn their bachelor’s.
Minimum Cumulative GPA Required for Bright Futures:
FL MEDALLION/VOC GOLD SEAL | | | |
Summer grades and/or hours earned after spring evaluation may be used if necessary to meet the scholarship renewal requirement. A student must submit the request in writing to a financial aid officer at the home postsecondary institution (that reported his/her spring renewal grade and hours) to submit a grade and hours update to the Bright Futures office indicating the adjusted cumulative GPA and/or hours. If this is the case: Please go to the Required Forms Section, select the Bright Futures Request Form, and follow the instructions and submit to our office upon completion.
If a student lost the scholarship due to GPA and they take longer than the summer of that academic year to make it up, then they may apply for Restoration with the State once their GPA has been raised to the minimum requirement. This can be done at the end of Spring or Summer of the following year, not Fall
For information regarding possible restoration in the future, please see the Bright Futures website at www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org/SSFAD/bf/restorepg.htm . Restoration only applies to students not meeting the grade point average requirement. If you have not earned the hours required for renewal, then you may not apply for restoration of the scholarship.
Students who receive a change in grades for Fall or Spring must notify the Financial Aid office in writing in order to submit updates to Bright Futures.
Eligible VISA Types for Bright Futures Eligibility
(Be sure Visa is not expired)
Category A - government official
Category E - treaty trader or investor
Category G – representative of an international organization
Category H-1 – temporary worker performing professional nursing services or in a specialty occupation
Category H-4 – only if spouse or child of an alien classified H-1
Category I – foreign information media representative
Category K – fiancée, fiancé or child of a US citizen
Category L – intra-company transferee (including spouse or child)
Category N – parent or child of alien accorded special immigrant status
Category O-1 – workers of "extraordinary" ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics
Category O-3 – only if spouse or child of O-1 alien
Category R – religious workers
Category NATO 1-7 – representatives and employees or NATO and their families
2009-2010 Bright Futures Brochures- Renewal Information
Important Bright Futures Checklist
Have you accepted your award on panthersoft?
All students must accept their awards on the Accept/Decline link on my.FIU.edu
If you have accepted your award, have you paid your difference by the payment deadline?
Remember that the amount awarded on panthersoft is based on 15 credits of enrollment. If you enrolled in more or less, the award will be adjusted after add/drop. Please refer to the above chart to see the approximate award amount based on your enrollment.
Did you request in writing that your summer grades and/or hours be reported to Bright Futures? Did you have a change of grade? Do you need to submit an appeal?
It is a student's responsibility to notify the financial aid office in writing upon a change of grade or if they made up their grades and/or hours to report it to Bright Futures. There's a form available to assist students with these situations. Please go to the Required Forms Section, select the Bright Futures Request Form, and follow the instructions and submit to our office upon completion.
For more information, Visit the State website on Bright Futures:
Checklist for Bright Futures Scholarship Bright Future Website.
Florida Department of Education - Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA)
FIU SCHOOL-PSI CODE # 131
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