The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program establishes a lottery-funded scholarship to reward any Florida high school graduate who merits recognition of high academic achievement and who enrolls in an eligible Florida public or private post-secondary educational institution within three years of high school graduation.

COLLEGE PREPARATORY CURRICULUM

The 1998 eligibility criteria require a 3.0 GPA in college preparatory curriculum, as identified by the Florida Board of Regents in Counseling for Future Education Handbook. The curriculum requirements include:

ü English	4 credits	Three of which must have included substantial writing requirements.
ü Math	3 credits	At the Algebra I and above levels
ü Natural Science	3 credits	Two of which must have included substantial laboratory requirements
ü Social Sciences	3 credits	Includes: History, Civics, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Psychology, and Geography
ü Foreign Language	2 credits	Both credits must be in the same language. For the purposes of this admission requirement, American Sign Language will be accepted in place of a foreign language.
TOTAL	15 credits	Calculation of a student’s GPA will be based only on these college preparatory courses.
All grades are averaged on an unweighted basis, as required by statute.

Note: If a student has a prepaid college tuition contract or other financial aid, he or she is still eligible for a Bright Futures Scholarship award. An eligible recipient will receive a Bright Futures Scholarship award regardless of their financial aid or prepaid tuition contract. The Bright Futures Scholarship award will be sent to the post-secondary institution or college to be credited toward tuition and fees, or if those are covered by another sources, the funds will be given directly to the student for housing, food, supplies or other college-related expenses.
 
Due to the determination of scholarship eligibility, students should be advised to take the SAT, ACT, or College Placement Test prior to their first semester of their senior year.

For further assistance, call the DOE Office of Student Financial Assistance at 1-888-827-2004 (Toll-Free) or go to 
Bright Futures Scholarship Program