Bright Futures
The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship is a merit-based award funded by the State of Florida.
Apply
The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship program provides the Florida Academic Scholar award (FAS) and the Florida Medallion Scholar award (FMS) to eligible students attending UWF. To learn more about the program, visit the Bright Futures Website. To apply and check your award status, use the application below:
- Florida Financial Aid Application
- UWF Bright Futures State School Code: 171
- Contact the Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) for more information at 888.827.2004 or osfa@fldoe.org.
- All initial eligibility requirements are listed on the Bright Futures Website in Chapter 1: Initial Eligibility, Page 3.
- Incoming freshmen are provided with a potential estimate for their Bright Futures award on their financial aid award letter. Their potential award is based upon their high school GPA and test scores and is not a guarantee of an award. Students must apply with the State of Florida and have their high school counselor verify their initial eligibility requirements, along with volunteer or work hours, in order to be considered for Bright Futures.
Newly Enrolled Students
If you are a newly enrolled student at UWF, make sure to update your Florida Financial Aid Application with the UWF school code. Your application must have the UWF school code in order for the scholarship funds to be disbursed to you at UWF. Also, make sure that your Social Security Number on file with OSFA matches with your Social Security Number that UWF has on file. Contact OSFA for assistance with updating your school code or Social Security Number, if needed.
Awards
Bright Futures is awarded per credit hour. Students are required to enroll in a minimum of 6 credit hours each semester to qualify for their Bright Futures award. The Florida Medallion Scholar awards $158.42 per credit hour, and the Florida Academic Scholar awards $211.23 per credit hour. The Florida Academic Scholar recipients with the highest academic ranking in each county will also receive the Academic Top Scholars Award, which is an additional $44.00 per credit hour. Students will be notified by the state if they were to qualify for the Academic Top Scholars Award.
| Credit Hours | Medallion Award | Academic Award |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | $950.52 | $1,267.38 |
| 7 | $1,108.94 | $1,478.61 |
| 8 | $1,267.36 | $1,689.84 |
| 9 | $1,425.78 | $1,901.07 |
| 10 | $1,584.20 | $2,112.30 |
| 11 | $1,742.62 | $2,323.53 |
| 12 | $1,901.04 | $2,534.76 |
| 13 | $2,059.46 | $2,745.99 |
| 14 | $2,217.88 | $2,957.22 |
| 15 | $2,376.30 | $3,168.45 |
| 16 | $2,534.72 | $3,379.68 |
| 17 | $2,693.14 | $3,590.91 |
| 18 | $2,851.56 | $3,802.14 |
| 19 | $3,009.98 | $4,013.37 |
| 20 | $3,168.40 | $4,224.60 |
- Covers up to 120 credit hours over a span of 5 academic years.
- Additional fees for online courses, lab fees, or other miscellaneous fees are not covered by the Bright Futures scholarship.
- Students may receive funding for less than 6 credits of enrollment only if (1) a student is enrolled in the last credits required for graduation, OR (2) the student has less than 6 credits of funding eligibility remaining.
- Graduate Funding: A Bright Futures recipient who graduates with a bachelor’s degree in 7 or fewer semesters or in 105 semester hours or fewer, may receive funding for one semester of graduate study, not to exceed 15 credit hours, paid at the undergraduate rate. Graduate school funding must be used within the applicable scholarship length. The award should automatically add to a student's record the first time they enroll in a graduate level program.
Renewal
Renewal is based on GPA and credit hours (the number of credit hours funded by Bright Futures and the total number of credit hours earned). In order to renew your scholarship for the following academic year, you must meet all of the renewal requirements at the end of the Spring semester. Renewal requirements are listed on the Bright Futures Website in Chapter 3: Renewal Eligibility.
| Award | GPA |
|---|---|
| Florida Academic Scholar | 3.00 |
| Florida Medallion Scholar | 2.75 |
The award (or ineligibility) determination will be posted to a student's online Financial Aid Recipient History (FARH) screen and is viewable by the student.
Credit Hours
Credit Hours
The following chart lists standard scenarios for required credit hours that must be earned after all dropped/withdrawn courses have been reported, per a student's enrollment type. This table does not include all scenarios. To customize based on your situation, use the Bright Futures Credit Hour Interactive Tool.
| Fall Hours Funded | Spring Hours Funded | Annual Earned Hours Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Full-Time (12+ credits) |
Full-Time | 12 + 12 = 24 |
| Three-Quarter Time | 12 + 9 = 21 | |
| Half-Time | 12 + 6 = 18 | |
| Three-Quarter Time (9-11 credits) |
Full-Time | 9 + 12 = 21 |
| Three-Quarter Time | 9 + 9 = 18 | |
| Half-Time | 9 + 6 = 15 | |
| Half-Time (6-8 credits) |
Full-Time | 6 + 12 = 18 |
| Three-Quarter Time | 6 + 9 = 15 | |
| Half-Time | 6 + 6 = 12 |
As an example, a student who is funded full-time in fall and funded three-quarter time in spring is required to earn a minimum of 21 credit hours by the conclusion of the spring term.
No Credit (NC) Grading Option
For undergraduate FTIC students entering Fall 2022 or later, per REG 3.031, a No Credit (NC) grade will be applied to grades of “D” or “F” in any General Education course taken within one year of their first enrollment date. For Bright Futures purposes, an NC grade does not result in earned credit hours and may impact a student's scholarship eligibility. Using the above chart or the Bright Futures Credit Hour Interactive Tool, a student can determine if an NC Grade will affect their scholarship renewal upon completion of the spring term. Please see the Office of the Registrar's Grades section to review more information on the NC grading system.
Other Special Grade and Hours Situations
If you are not meeting renewal requirements for Bright Futures at the end of the spring term, and your record with OSFA needs to be updated to reflect the correct grades and earned hours, please reach out to finaid@uwf.edu for us to review and make necessary updates.
Below are some reasons that may require a new evaluation:
- Grade Change: Students whose grades and earned credit hours were impacted by a grade change in their most recent fall and/or spring term. This includes grade forgiveness.
- Transient Students: Students who were enrolled in transient credit hours, submitted their transcripts to the Registrars Office and OSFA is not reflecting these credit hours.
- Study Abroad: Students who were in a study abroad program and the grades and earned credit hours were not reported to OSFA. Grades must be posted before we are able to update your grades and hours on the state site.
- Repayment of the Bright Futures award during a previous aid year: Students who repaid their Bright Futures award from dropping and/or withdrawing from coursework during a previous aid year and OSFA has not yet been updated.
Repayment for Withdrawal
State regulations require repayment of Bright Futures for the cost of any withdrawn coursework in a given semester. Payment of the returned funds can be made in the UWF Cashier's Office or through Transact. A hold will be placed on the student's academic record until the outstanding balance is resolved. Any credit hours funded by Bright Futures that were withdrawn are required to be repaid prior to eligibility being renewed. UWF allows for a one-time appeal of repayment based on certain criteria. A verifiable personal/family illness or emergency with supporting documentation can be grounds for a Repayment Appeal. Should students choose to appeal, they will be required to complete a State Aid Appeal in MyUWF and upload any necessary documentation. Your email notification will let you know how long you have to appeal. Appeals submitted after this date will not be eligible for review.
Restoration
Restoration would be utilized for students who have lost their Bright Futures during the preceding academic year. A one-time restoration opportunity is available under limited circumstances:
- A student who did not meet at least the overall cumulative 2.75 GPA renewal requirement, but DID meet the credit hour renewal requirement during the first year of funding (end of spring term or end of summer term for students enrolled in spring/summer semesters) has a one-time opportunity to restore the scholarship. If a student that has a restoration opportunity fails to restore the GPA, the attempt is still available after future academic years until a successful restoration is achieved, or until the 5-year limit has been reached.
- A student who was initially eligible for an Florida Academic Scholar award (FAS), but renewed to Florida Medallion Scholar award (FMS) award eligibility due to earning an overall cumulative GPA between 2.75 – 2.99, has a one-time opportunity to restore to FAS. If a student that has a restoration opportunity fails to restore to FAS, the attempt is still available after future academic years until a successful FAS restoration is achieved, or until the 5-year limit has been reached.
- A student who was initially eligible for an FAS award and met the credit hour requirement, but lost award eligibility due to earning an overall cumulative GPA below a 2.75 during the first year of funding, may seek to restore their award in the following ways:
- A student earning an overall cumulative GPA between 2.75 – 2.99 will result in a successful restoration to FMS award eligibility without an opportunity to restore as an FAS.
- A student earning an overall cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher will result in a successful restoration to FAS award eligibility. No further restoration opportunities will be allowed.
Restoration requirements can be satisfied by:
- Take summer classes that will apply toward your cumulative GPA and request that the financial aid office submit a summer grade and hours update to the Bright Futures office indicating the adjusted cumulative GPA and hours; or
- Raise cumulative GPA above the renewal requirement before the fall term for which the student is seeking funding (or spring term for spring/summer students) and submit a Reinstatement/Restoration Application.
Reinstatement
Reinstatement is needed if a student’s last status was ineligible for not meeting renewal requirements and the student did not receive funding during the previous academic year. The student will need to submit a Reinstatement/Restoration Application to apply for Reinstatement.
- New applications are available in February each year.
- 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 and/or earned hours 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 transcript be submitted to OSFA at the address at the end of this chapter.
- The deadline for submission of the Reinstatement/Restoration Application for both fall and spring (or equivalent) of the year in which the student is seeking funding is May 30. However, OSFA recommends that applications be submitted online by July 1 for a timely fall disbursement or by December 15 for a timely spring disbursement.
Grade and Hour Appeal
If annual renewal requirements were not met, a student may request a State Aid appeal due to verifiable illness or circumstance beyond student’s control. The appeal must be submitted through the financial aid office at the institution enrolled in when eligibility was lost. At UWF, students can submit an appeal using the State Aid Appeal form in MyUWF. Students are allowed one approved State Aid Appeal while enrolled at UWF.