Bright Futures Scholarship Program
The Florida Bright Futures programs require students to earn the minimum number of credits needed for their enrollment status (6 credit hours per term for part time, 9 credit hours for 3/4 time and 12 credit hours for full time). The State offers a Bright Futures Credit Hour Renewal Requirement Interactive Tool to assist students in calculating the minimum number of credits required for renewal.
The state will evaluate GPA and hours earned at the end of the spring semester and post eligibility notifications to each student's online financial aid history screen on the Florida Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance website.
The minimum GPA required to renew the Bright Futures programs (checked annually, at the end of the spring semester) are:
- Academic Scholars: 3.0 cumulative GPA. Recipients whose cumulative GPA falls below the 3.0 requirement and remains above a 2.75 will renew as Medallion Scholars. If the GPA is improved above a 3.0 in a subsequent renewal period, the student will restore as an Academic Scholar, using the one-time restoration opportunity.
- Medallion Scholars: 2.75 cumulative GPA.
Students may restore their Bright Futures award for failure to meet the GPA renewal requirement at the end of the Spring term in their first year of funding only. They may use their subsequent summer as their one-time restoration opportunity or they may attempt restoration at a subsequent renewal period (end of Spring term) or summer. Students must follow the appeals process described in this section to request re-evaluation.
Per Florida statutes, students who drop or withdraw from coursework for which they have received funding must repay the University for the unearned hours. Students will not be eligible to receive additional funding through the Bright Futures program until repayment is received. This requirement is checked each term, and must be fulfilled prior to receiving any subsequent Bright Futures disbursements.
The Florida Bright Futures Scholarships provide funding for up to 124 credits towards a bachelor's degree. Students who have not used the full 124 credits of Bright Futures funding towards their bachelor's degree may receive up to 15 credits of funding in their first semester of a graduate program.