The Florida Senate Passes the Bright Futures Scholarship Bill

The Florida Senate Passes the Bright Futures Scholarship Bill

The Florida Senate voted unanimously to expand the Bright Futures Scholarship Program, a statewide scholarship program for Florida college students on Thursday.

SB 4 will expand the amount of financial aid and scholarship money Florida students could receive under the program.  The proposed changes could cut the tuition bills of nearly 100,000 students this year.

All 34 senators voted in favor of the bill.

If the Florida House also votes in favor of the bill, the Bright Futures Scholarship Program will permanently award full tuition and most fees, plus $300 per semester for textbooks to Florida Academic Scholars award recipients.  Students who qualify for this award are top-tier students who attend public colleges and universities in Florida. Receiving the top award for the scholarship requires students to have at least a 3.5 GPA as well as a score of 1290 on the SAT or a 29 on the ACT.

At least 41,000 students qualified for the Florida Academic Scholars award this year.

The tier of students just below them will receive 75 percent of tuition and most fees as part of theBright Futures Medallion Scholar award. All scholars who qualify for either of these scholarship tiers can also use the money for summer classes, if they choose.

The legislation also expands the Benacquisto Scholarship awards, which provide the full cost of attendance, to recruit out-of-state National Merit Scholar award winners.

At International College Counselors, we say kudos to the Florida Senate for their vote on this bill.  Students who work hard deserve to be recognized and rewarded with access to the opportunities and resources they need to succeed even more.