The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship is a merit award based on high school academic achievement. Students may receive either the Florida Academic Scholars Award or Florida Medallion Scholars Award at the University of Central Florida.
Types of Bright Future Scholarship Programs
Florida Academic Scholars (FAS)
This is the most competitive Bright Futures scholarship and the most generous one. Florida Academic Scholar (FAS) recipients may receive funding for up to five years from high school graduation for a maximum of 120 semester hours toward the completion of a first baccalaureate degree. The Florida Academic Scholar with the highest academic ranking in each county will also receive the Academic Top Scholars Award.
FAS Awards
The Florida Academic Scholars will receive an award amount equal to 100% of tuition and applicable fees. Applicable fees include: activity and service fee, health fee, athletic fee, financial aid fee, capital improvement fee, campus access/transportation fee, technology fee and tuition differential fee.
The Florida Academic Scholars Award is $212.28 per credit hour.
The Academic Top Scholars Award is $44 per credit hour.
FAS Frequently Asked Questions
#___ of credit hours enrolled X $212.28 = $ ___ FAS award amount
Yes. A FAS scholarship recipient who qualifies for one semester of graduate study funding may have the one semester be the summer term.
The award amount will be calculated based on the undergraduate tuition rate of $212.28.
Applicable fees include activity and service fees, health fees, athletic fees, financial aid fees, capital improvement fees, transportation fees (SUS only), technology fees and tuition differential fees.
Academic Scholars will receive an award equal to 100% of tuition and applicable fees. The tuition and applicable fees for 1 credit hour is $212.28.
Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS)
This scholarship is less competitive than the FAS, but it still has relatively high minimum test score and GPA requirements. Florida Medallion Scholar (FMS) recipients may receive funding for up to five years from high school graduation for a maximum of 120 semester hours toward the completion of a first baccalaureate degree.
FMS Awards
Florida Medallion Scholars will receive an award amount equal to 75% of tuition and applicable fall, spring and summer fees. Applicable fees include activity and service fee, health fee, athletic fee, financial aid fee, capital improvement fee, campus access/transportation fee, technology fee and tuition differential fee.
The Florida Medallion Scholars Award is $159.21 per credit hour.
FMS Frequently Asked Questions
A student must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours in order to receive Bright Futures funding for each term.
Medallion Scholars will receive an award amount equal to 75% of tuition and applicable fees. The tuition and applicable fees for 1 credit hour is $159.21.
($212.28 X 75% = $159.21 the current rate for Medallion Scholars)
Applicable fees include activity and service fees, health fees, athletic fees, financial aid fees, capital improvement fees, transportation access fees, technology fees and tuition differential fees.
Yes. Students will be disbursed an award if enrolled with a minimum of 6 credit hours.
#____of credit hours enrolled x $159.21= $____FMS award amount.
Transient Student Hours
UCF will include approved transient enrollment hours in Bright Futures awards according to the per credit hour award amount for the type of institution attended. Students must complete the transient enrollment process to include transient hours.
For more information, visit our Transient Enrollment page.
Rates for transient enrollment at Florida Public Colleges
- Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) Award = 100% of Tuition & Fees at Host Institution
- Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) Award = 75% of Tuition & Fees at Host Institution
Bright Futures Eligibility and Requirements
Eligibility and application criteria are available from your high school guidance office, or the Florida Bright Futures Program website.
Students are not required to submit a FAFSA in order to receive both initial and renewal Bright Futures eligibility. Students are encouraged to submit the FAFSA to learn of potential eligibility for additional state and federal aid.
Note: Gold Seal (Cape/or Vocational) Scholarships are not offered at UCF as we are a postsecondary institution specialized in degree programs.
General Bright Futures Requirements
Each award has different academic criteria for eligibility and provides a different award amount and/or number of semester hours. Below are general requirements that apply to both Bright Futures awards. In order to qualify for one of these awards, you must:
- Be a Florida state resident and a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
- Complete the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) by 8/31 the year of your high school graduation
- Earn a standard Florida high school diploma or its equivalent from a Florida public high school or a registered Florida Department of Education private school
- Not have been convicted of (or pleaded no contest to) a felony charge
- Be accepted by and enroll in a degree or certificate program at an eligible Florida public or independent postsecondary institution
- Be enrolled for at least six (non-remedial) credit hours per term
If you meet all of the above requirements, you’re on the right track to getting your own Florida Bright Futures awards.
Exceptions to Bright Futures Requirements
Students with less than 6 credit hours required for graduation, may receive FAS and FMS by submitting a memo on letterhead from an student success coach indicating:
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- Student’s name and UCFID
- Semester graduation is expected
- Less than 6 hours are required for graduation.
- Attention to the Bright Futures Department
Use the Document and File Uploader tool and select the routing option: Graduation Memo.
Graduate level hours may be approved by the student’s student success coach if they are required for the completion of the degree. Courses will be paid as an undergraduate rate. Students taking graduate-level courses must submit a memo from the student success coach indicating:
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- Student’s name and UCFID
- Graduate-level courses meet undergraduate graduation requirements.
- Name of the graduate course(s) enrolled
- Name of the undergraduate degree to be received
Use the Document and File Uploader tool and select the routing option: Bright Futures / Benacquisto Scholarships.
How to Apply for Bright Futures
Students must apply for the scholarship by submitting the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) no later than August 31 after high school graduation.
NOTE: In order to receive the Bright Futures Scholarship award, your post-secondary institution selection on the Initial Student Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) must be stated as “University of Central Florida.” If you have selected another institution on the FFAA and you are planning to attend UCF, you must update your institution name selection to reflect “UCF”. To update your post-secondary institution name, you may visit the Florida Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistant (OSFA) website or call 1-888-827-2004. Also, if you were assigned a Pseudo number (PSI) which begins with either P00 or P04 by the Florida Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistant (OSFA), please send an email to our office at finaid@ucf.edu with the subject line : “Pseudo Number Bright Futures” and make sure to include the Pseudo number that was assigned to you, along with your UCFID. Once we update our records, we will be able to pull your data from the Master Eligibility List (MEL) and package the award.
Bright Futures Timeline
- UCF begins awarding estimated Bright Futures awards in February for the upcoming academic year that begins in August.
- From February to the end of May, these estimates are based on information that UCF has on record including SAT/ACT scores and high school GPA.
- At the end of May, UCF will load the Master Eligibility List (MEL) from Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) which includes students who received the Bright Futures Initial Award Letter from OSFA.
- For students who we estimated an award but whose final determination has not yet been made by Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) will be notified by UCF.
- UCF receives weekly updates from OSFA so students who are added to the list can expect an award to be made within about a week from OSFA’s final determination.
Summer Funding for Bright Futures Scholars
The Bright Futures Scholarship allows Bright Futures Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) and Bright Futures Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) students to receive award funding during summer terms.
FAS students will receive an award that covers 100% of tuition and applicable fees for the summer term.
FMS students will receive an award that covers 75% of tuition and fees.
Funding Requirements
In order to receive summer funding, FAS and FMS students:
- Must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours across all summer sessions.
- Students with less than 6 credit hours required for graduation, may receive FAS and FMS by submitting a memo on letterhead from an student success coach indicating less than 6 hours are required for graduation.
- Graduate level hours may be approved by the student’s student success coach. Students taking graduate-level courses must submit a memo from the student success coach indicating graduate-level courses meet undergraduate graduation requirements.
Summer Funding Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The 2023-24 academic year includes the summer 2023 term. Any FAS or FMS student eligible for 2023-24 may receive summer funding, provided the student meets all enrollment criteria.
Florida Bright Futures Scholars enrolled less than half time may only be funded if they are enrolled in the remaining courses to finish their degree (a memo from an student success coach must be submitted) or if they are being disbursed the last remaining hours of Bright Futures eligibility.
Yes. Florida Bright Futures Scholars who meet graduate funding requirements, may use the summer as the one semester of graduate study funding. If the student does not wish to be funded for the summer term, please send an email to finaid@ucf.edu to request it in writing.
Yes. Grade and hours information will be reported for all students funded during the summer. If a student took transient hours, the grades and hours earned at the other institution must be reported to UCF by August 12 in order to be reported systematically. After this date, students would have to complete the Bright Futures Renewal Re-Evaluation Form in order for the grades and hours to be reported to OSFA.
If a student has an opportunity to restore the Bright Futures award, the grades from the summer term may be used to meet restoration requirements. UCF will report these hours systematically and the student will not have to apply for restoration.
Sessions A, B, C, and D offered during the summer term.
Yes, high school graduates eligible for either Florida Academic Scholars or Florida Medallion Scholars may receive funding when enrolled in classes as a degree-seeking student during the summer.
No. Renewal will be based on grades and hours earned for the fall and spring terms. However, grades and hours reported to the Florida Department of Education include students’ cumulative GPAs.
Yes. Repayment obligations remain the same regardless of the term funded.
No. For Florida Academic Scholars, only 100% of tuition and applicable fees will disburse in summer terms.
Florida Academic Scholars and Florida Medallion Scholars, who enroll in at least six credit hours in the summer term, may be eligible to receive Bright Futures Scholarship funding.
Renewal & Reinstatement / Restoration
Renewal Eligibility
Renewal eligibility is an automatic process that occurs at the end of the spring term for those students who received funding during the previous year. Renewal students must earn the GPA and the required hours on all college coursework attempted, including transient enrollment hours. The student may request the exclusion of dual enrollment courses completed while attending high school from the GPA, if needed, to meet requirements.
Reinstatement / Restoration
Eligible students who did not receive a Bright Futures disbursement during the previous academic year can apply to have the award reinstated.
If a student does not meet the scholarship’s GPA requirements, they may be eligible to apply for a one-time restoration — but only if the failure to renew occurred at the end of the student’s first year of funding.
Repayment for Dropped or Withdrawn Courses
Institutions are required to recalculate Bright Futures awards when a student withdraws or drops one or more classes after the Drop/Swap and Add period ends.
- Students whose awards are already disbursed will owe the funds back to UCF for classes that are withdrawn and/or dropped.
- Failure to pay back the university will result in being on hold from registration, receiving grades, and endanger future eligibility for Bright Futures.
- Repayment for the cost of dropped and/or withdrawn courses is required to renew a Bright Futures award for a subsequent academic year.
- UCF Repayment Deadline – See Academic Calendar for the specific term. A $100.00 late payment fee will be applied if payment is not received by the due date.
- Florida Department of Education (OSFA Repayment Deadline – Students must pay UCF before the end of the spring term to be reported automatically. Payments after the end of the spring term will require the completion of the Bright Futures/ Benacquisto – Renewal Re-Evaluation Form.
- A student with a verifiable illness or some other emergency beyond the student’s control may appeal the repayment requirement by completing the State Programs and Scholarships Appeal Form and submitting it with supporting documentation. Repayment for withdrawn courses appeals may be submitted after courses are withdrawn but must be submitted no later than April 30th. Unless a repayment appeal is granted, the student is responsible for the repayment of the award for all courses that were withdrawn or dropped.
Repayment for the cost of dropped or withdrawn courses is required to renew a Bright Futures award for a subsequent academic year.
- UCF Repayment Deadline – See Academic Calendar for the specific term. A $100.00 late payment fee will be applied if payment is not received by the due date.
- OSFA Repayment Deadline – Students must pay UCF before the end of the spring term in order to be reported automatically. Payments after the end of the spring term will require the completion of the Bright Futures/ Benacquisto – Renewal Re-Evaluation Form.
Scholarship Appeals Procedures
If you do not meet the renewal GPA and/or required hours due to a verifiable illness or other emergencies, you may file a State Programs and Scholarships Appeal Form with our office. The medical or emergency circumstances that affected the semester/s in question must be documented. You should provide as much documentation as possible regarding the illness or emergency to our office.
NOTE: A student may file the scholarship appeal any time after they have reviewed their Bright Futures account and confirmed they did not meet the renewal requirements.
Bright Futures FAQs
Eligible students must enroll in at least 6 non-remedial undergraduate credit hours each term to receive Bright Futures funding.
Exceptions are granted for:
- Eligible students who have less than 6 credit hours of remaining eligibility (this is done automatically at UCF)
- Eligible students who need less than 6 credit hours to graduate. These students must submit a letter (on official letterhead) from their student success coach. The letter should be sent to the attention of the Bright Futures Department and should state:
- Student’s name & UCFID/PID
- Name of course(s) needed for graduation
- Name of the undergraduate degree to be received
Graduate level hours may be approved by the student’s student success coach if the graduate level hours will count toward the undergraduate degree completion requirements. These students must submit a letter (on official letterhead) from their student success coach. The letter should be sent to the attention of the Bright Futures Department and should state:
- Student’s name & UCFID/PID
- Name of the graduate course(s)
- Name of the undergraduate degree these courses will count toward
Florida Bright Futures Scholars enrolled less than half time may only be funded if they are enrolled in the remaining courses to finish their degree (a memo from an student success coach must be submitted) or if they are being disbursed the last remaining hours of Bright Futures eligibility.