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When the Bright Futures Scholarship Program began in 1997, many hoped that the promise of free money for college would encourage Florida’s brightest students to stay in-state for school. The plan worked, but possibly too well. The number of students receiving funding rose from 42,319 (1997-1998 school year) to 174,047 (2011-2012 school year), a 311 percent increase since the program’s inception. To date, a total of 1,863,792 scholarships have been disbursed at a total cost of $3,983,644,160. Impressive totals, but the award isn’t quite the same anymore. In fact, over the last three years, the value of the scholarship has declined each year, due to an increased number of applicants and declining lottery sales. With rising tuition rates and falling award amounts, more students will be dipping into their own pockets to help meet the costs of college, which may have some questioning whether the reward is still worth the effort. Unfortunately, the new eligibility requirements are making it even more challenging to earn a Bright Futures Scholarship.
Students graduating high school in the 2013-2014 school year will now be required to meet higher test scores, which may put the scholarship out of reach for many students who would have qualified under the old guidelines. Requirements for the Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) Award will increase by 10 points for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and one point for the ACT. Requirements for the Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) Award will increase by 150 points for the SAT and four points for the ACT. The changes could have a significant impact on those entering college in 2014. In fact, a recent article in The Oracle estimated that more than half of this year’s incoming University of South Florida freshman class would not be eligible to receive a Bright Futures Scholarship if the changes for the 2013-2014 went into effect today.
Last year, changes to the Florida Gold Seal Vocational (GSV) Scholars Award caught many students off-guard; not only did the requirements to receive the award change, but also how a student could use the funds. Those under the GVS could no longer use the award for an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in arts, leaving many students scrambling for ways to pay their tuition bills, which would have been covered under the previous year’s rules. Students aren’t the only ones upset by the new standards; some educators suspect that the state is looking for a way to underfund the program by increasing the requirements. Toni Padgett, a Career Specialist at Fleming Island High School in Orange Park, FL, expects to see a significant decrease in the number of students qualifying for the scholarships. ‘The changes in the Bright Futures – Gold Seal level – has definitely had an impact on our career and tech programs at the school because it used to be a great selling point for our CTE programs,’ said Padgett.
Some politicians and educators have called for an overhaul in the Bright Futures Scholarship Program; they suggest converting it from a merit-based program to a need-based program. Mrs. Padgett, however, suggests that perhaps we need to return to the original intent of the scholarship program, which is ‘helping students graduate with as little debt as possible by putting the funds in the hands of motivated students.’ ‘ I think there are already many scholarship/grant options available based on need, and I think we need to encourage our bright students to remain in Florida for school so that we potentially keep them in our state for employment,’ replied Padgett. ‘With continual rising costs, I believe this is an incentive for our students to work hard in school for the economic reward.’
Unfortunately, as the demand for scholarships continues to grow and the funding continues to decline, even those who do qualify for Bright Futures under the new requirements may still continue to see their scholarship awards shrink. At some point, the reward may not be worth the effort, and students may start to seek admission outside the state, defeating the purpose of the program. If the intent of the program was to reduce ‘brain drain’ and create incentive for the brightest students to remain in-state, the upcoming changes may all but guarantee that only those in the very top of their class will have a “bright future.” In return, this may also deny thousands of other accomplished students the opportunity to shine.
Do you think the new requirements for the Bright Futures Scholarship Program will help keep the program afloat, or do you think the funding should be earmarked for students who have financial need? Leave a comment below or share your opinions and suggestions with us on Facebook and Twitter.