Bright Futures Scholarship

What is the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program?

The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program is funded by the Florida Lottery. The program rewards students for their academic achievements during high school by offering funding for the pursuit of postsecondary educational and career goals in Florida.

Summit Salon Academy participates in the Bright Futures Florida Academic scholarship, Medallion scholarship, Gold Seal Cape scholarship, and Gold Seal Vocational scholarship.

How do I apply for a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship?

Eligibility and application criteria are available from your high school guidance counselor, or the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program website.

You must apply for the scholarship by submitting the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) online to the Florida Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA).

  • You must submit the application by August 31st following high school graduation. If you do not apply for the scholarship by the deadline, you may not receive the scholarship.
  • Generally, all eligibility requirements must be met by the time of high school graduation, but ACT/SAT test scores taken through June 30th are accepted for eligibility purposes.
  • When completing the application, you will need to add Summit Salon Academy's school code (256) for the Financial Aid Office to receive your scholarship information.
  • Please verify your legal name and Social Security Number before submitting the application. Inaccuracies will delay your scholarship award.

What are the eligibility requirements for a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship?

To be initially eligible for a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship, you must:

  • Have a Social Security Number that matches Summit Salon Academy and OSFA.
  • Be a Florida Resident.
  • Be a certificate seeking student, enrolled in a program that is eligible for your type of Bright Futures scholarship.
  • Be enrolled in at least half-time.
  • Meet certain academic requirements.
  • Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen.
  • Have not previously received a bachelor's degree.
  • Not owe a repayment or be in default under any state or federal grant or loan program.
  • Earn all credits paid for by your Bright Futures scholarship.
  • Meet all applicable deadlines so that the scholarship can be processed.
    • Per state rules, there are processing and compliance deadlines. If your scholarship eligibility is determined beyond the processing deadline, funds may not be paid out by the state.
    • The deadline to be determined eligible, repay for dropped/withdrawn or other unearned credits, and/or to be disbursed (paid out) is 2 weeks prior to the end of Summer (Term 6) of the academic year.
    • All other critical deadlines for financial aid and for Summit Salon Academy also apply.

For more program specific eligibility requirements click below:

Florida Academic Scholarship (FAS)/Florida Medallion Scholarship (FMS)

Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholarship (GSC)

Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholarship (GSV)

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is not a requirement to receive Bright Futures. However, when you submit the FAFSA you may qualify for additional funding.

Federal verification and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) do not affect Bright Futures eligibility. However, if you are selected for verification or are not meeting SAP, you are encouraged to address this issue to qualify for additional financial aid.

How much is the Florida Bright Futures award?

Bright Futures recipients receive an amount per hour that is set by the Florida legislature based on the costs at each school. Per State law (FL Statute 1009.23), not all costs are allowed to be included in the scholarship amount, even if it says 100% tuition and fees. The Florida Legislature reviews the amounts annually so your total scholarship may adjust from year to year and may adjust after your scholarships is awarded.

Your award amount is based on your actual enrolment hours in the term. Your award amount is locked in based on your enrollment as of the time your scholarship has started to be disbursed. Often, the Bright Futures award is not enough to cover 100% of tuition and approved fees, so you may need to pay the remaining balance to keep from being dropped.

Is there funding for Florida Bright Futures in the summer?

The Bright Futures Scholarship program allows Bright Futures Florida Academic Scholars (BFFAS) and Bright Futures Florida Medallion Scholars (BFFMS) to receive award funding for summer.

If you are planning to attend during summer, please notify the college by updating your state application for the academic year to indicate you will be attending for:

  • Term 0 if you are a newly graduated high school senior entering college for the first time
  • Term 6 if you are a continuing college student or transferring to the college from another school.

Please update this as soon as possible to avoid any delays in your awards.

Funding Requirements

In order to receive summer funding, you:

  • Must meet general Bright Futures eligibility/renewal requirements
  • Must be enrolled in an eligible degree program
  • Must be enrolled at the time summer eligibility is determined

If you receive the scholarship in the summer, you are responsible for completing all funded hours in the summer to keep your scholarship.

For further information or assistance, you may contact OSFA Customer Service via email at OSFA@fldoe.org or call 888-827-2004.

What are the renewal requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship?

If you receive funding during the current academic year, you will automatically be evaluated for renewal at the end of the spring term, and at the end of the summer term if you receive summer funding.

You do not need to submit a renewal application for this to occur. Each spring Summit Salon Academy sends the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) every funded student’s GPA and hours earned. Eligibility notifications are then posted to your online account on OSFA's website (usually around July 1st).

If, in the first year of funding, you do not meet the annual minimum renewal GPA requirement you will be permitted a one-time restoration in a subsequent summer or academic year renewal period (end of spring term).

If you do not meet the minimum earned hours requirement or fail to meet the minimum GPA requirement after the first year of funding, you will NOT be permitted a restoration opportunity.

Your summer grade and hours earned after spring evaluation may only be used to meet the scholarship renewal requirements if you have a one-time restoration opportunity available. You must ask a financial aid officer at the postsecondary institution (that reported your spring renewal grades and hours) to submit a summer grade and hours update to the Bright Futures office indicating the adjusted cumulative GPA and hours.

Renewal into a Different Scholarship Type

  • Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) with 2.75-2.99 GPA at the end of the renewal period will renew as Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS). If the GPA is improved above a 3.0 in a subsequent renewal period, your eligibility will restore as a FAS, using the one-time restoration opportunity.
  • If you earned the FMS, Gold Seal CAPE Scholars (GSC), or Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV) award in high school you may not renew to the FAS award.
  • A GSC or GSV award may not be renewed to the FMS.

Can I restore or reinstate my Bright Futures Scholarship?

One-Time Restoration Opportunity

After your first year of funding, if your cumulative GPA is below 2.75, you may use that summer to increase your GPA. If, at the end of the summer term your GPA is still below the minimum 2.75, you will have until the end of the second year to bring the GPA up to at least a 2.75. You may then apply for a One Time Reinstatement at the Bright Futures website through the state of Florida. The summer term may be used for GPA renewal ONLY after the first year of funding.

You are not eligible for Reinstatement/Restoration if your GPA falls below 2.75 after the first year.

For more information about restoration, visit the "Renewing Your Award" section on the Bright Futures website.

Reinstatement

If you are an eligible student who did not receive funding during the previous academic year you may be able to apply for scholarship funding as a reinstating student.

If you are a first year in college student receiving Bright Futures, your summer grades and hours earned after the spring evaluation may be used, if necessary, to meet the scholarship renewal requirements. To use this provision, you must submit an appeal for reinstatement to the Financial Aid Office, which will notify the financial aid office that you would like to submit a grade and hours update to the Bright Futures/OSFA office with the adjusted cumulative GPA and/or hours.

If you attended another college or university and have transfer credits, the transfer credits may be used in the cumulative GPA calculation. For more information about reinstatement, visit the " Renewing Your Award" section on the Bright Futures website.

Can I appeal if I do not meet renewal requirements for Bright Futures?

A scholarship appeal should only be submitted when you did not meet scholarship criteria based on extenuating circumstances beyond your control. Please refer to the Financial Aid Office for steps on how to submit an appeal.

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA)

Contact Number: 1-888-827-2004

For easy access to program information, application and award status, students are responsible for regularly checking their State account on the Bright Futures Website.

Summit Salon Academy’s Bright Futures State School Code is 256.