Cuts keep dimming Bright Futures college scholarship
Greater participation, decreased awards
The number of students statewide in the Bright Futures Scholarship Program, which includes several different scholarships, has increased and disbursements have decreased based on the latest available numbers:
2009-10
· Total dollars disbursed: $423.5 million
· Total students: 177,612 Average award amount: $2,384
Daytona State College:
· Total students: 1,686
· Average award: $1,573
Stetson University:
· Total students: 1,038
· Average award: $3,027
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University:
· Total students: 497
· Average award: $2,704
Bethune-Cookman University:
· Total students: 177
· Average award: $2,870
2008-09
· Total dollars disbursed: $429 million
· Total students: 169,366
· Average award amount: $2,533
Daytona State College
· Total students: 1,645
· Average award: $1,821
Stetson University:
· Total students: 1,075
· Average award: $3,073
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University:
· Total students: 508
· Average award: $2,887
Bethune-Cookman University:
· Total students: 181
· Average award: $2,733
SOURCE: Florida Department of Education
Bright Futures changes
Cuts in the Bright Futures Scholarship Program for 2011/2012 compared to last year.
Bright Futures Florida - News
Like more than 100000 students statewide, Schap is facing not only a tuition increase but cuts in his Bright Futures Scholarship, which awards Florida high school graduates for high academic achievement, including GPA and test scores.

By John O'Connor University of Florida junior received a Bright Futures scholarship despite being an illegal immigrant. Florida students unable to document citizenship for themselves or their parents may lose their Bright Futures college scholarships

Making the form mandatory could be a first sign that cash-strapped Florida cannot continue to award the scholarships to every bright student regardless of how much money their parents earn. Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, said the forms will give the
Florida is a national leader in home foreclosures. We've all lost work, sales or take-home pay, causing credit-card debt to soar. The Florida Legislature raised tuition and gutted Bright Futures scholarships, forcing more households to take out bigger
The pamphlets contain more than requirements; they reflect a promise to future generations, made 14 years ago by the state and its people. "In 1997, the Florida Legislature created the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program to reward students for
Editorial: The future of Bright Futures | Education on Paper
“In 1997, a Florida Legislature combined a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program to prerogative students for their educational achievements during high propagandize by providing appropriation to attend post-secondary preparation in Florida.”
Today, there are signs that a guarantee competence not be kept.
Bright Futures is a merit-based program. There are 3 forms of Bright Futures scholarships, and during a 2009-10 propagandize year, a normal disbursements were:
Academic Scholar, $3,295.
Medallion Scholar, $2,147.
Gold Seal Vocational Scholar, $1,569.
Bright Futures, saved with deduction from a Florida Lottery, has awarded $3.2 billion to some-more than 1.5 million Florida students. During 2009-10, some-more than $423 million in scholarships was awarded to 177,612 Florida students — 32 percent of high propagandize graduates in 2010, according to a Florida Department of Education.
This year, a Florida Legislature upheld a law requiring students who accept a Bright Futures grant to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Known as FAFSA, a concentration includes 6 pages of financial questions about a tyro and a student’s evident family. Filling out FAFSA is compulsory to request for sovereign tyro assist — including grants, loans and work-study programs.
Information compulsory includes a student’s and parents’ income, as good as a value of stocks, checking and assets accounts, genuine estate and more.
The sovereign filing requirement for a state grant has generated opposition.
“A lot of relatives are not happy that they need to yield financial information for a grant that’s merit-based,” pronounced Tara Karas, behaving executive of financial assist for Sarasota-based New College of Florida.
But, Karas said, many relatives are stuffing out a form because, as a website for a Florida Department of Education states: “No FAFSA = No $”
Some of a angst over FAFSA is a penetration on tyro and family privacy.
More important, though, it could be a predecessor to change in a criteria for Bright Futures. The merit-based grant competence turn a need-based program.
Why would a Legislature change a module as renouned as Bright Futures? Costs.
Since 1997, a series of students receiving Bright Futures scholarships has increasing by 320 percent. The program’s appropriation has increasing 500 percent given a inception.
New FL Bright Futures requirement could rule out financial aid for many US citizens and LEGAL :
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