Calling all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors! You’re going to be shocked that you may not know this, but the next four years of your life is actually a chance to earn a valuable scholarship called Bright Futures by getting decent grades.

For kids that maintain a strong enough GPA, Bright Futures is a scholarship that can cover your full college tuition to a state university in Florida.

Through the program, essentially all Florida residents can apply for and earn partial-to-full scholarships based on their GPA and SAT/ACT scores. To give you some perspective, Bright Futures has helped 725,000 Florida students attend their Florida state school of choice.

But, before you stress, thinking you’ll need a 4.5 GPA and a 36 on the ACT, don’t. I’m here to break Bright Futures down so you can ensure that you succeed in high school and receive the scholarship you deserve.

Let’s get down into the nitty-gritty of this scholarship. First of all, Bright Futures only applies to FLORIDA PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES. Secondly, there are two levels of the scholarship: FAS (Florida Academic Scholar) and FMS (Florida Medallion Scholar).

The FAS covers 100% of your tuition at a Florida public university (FSU, UF, FIU, USF, Florida A&M, FGCU, UCF etc.) and the FMS covers 75% of your tuition based on your test scores and GPA.

If you’re in the class of 2021 and 2022, you need a 3.5 weighted GPA, at least a 29 on your ACT or a 1330 SAT, and 100 hours of community service to be a Florida Academic Scholar (100% tuition).

Another important requirement for this level is getting all your high school course credits. For SSES students, this part should be the easiest to obtain because these classes are required for graduation anyway.

To qualify for the FMS (which is 75% of tuition) you must achieve a 3.0 weighted GPA, a 25 on the ACT or a 1210 on the SAT, and 75 hours of community service.

Some very important aspects of Bright Futures is that if current seniors don’t apply by the summer, they cannot go back and retrieve their money later if they decide to attend a Florida university.

Earning a scholarship that can pay for 75% or 100% of your college tuition is one of the best things you can do in order to save yourself in the future from drowning in student loans. So don’t hesitate to pick up an extra SAT prep book to earn yourself a nice score and an affordable college experience.

For more information and resources please visit: https://www.sfa.ufl.edu/types-of-aid/bright-futures/