STATE OF FLORIDA SCHOLARSHIPS

LSCC administers the following scholarships funded by the State of Florida. Students should check with their high school guidance counselors for more information and specific guidelines or visit the Florida Department of Education website.

• Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship
• Florida Bright Futures Scholarships for:
    Academic
    Medallion
    Vocational Gold Seal
    Top Scholar
• Scholarship for Children of Deceased or Disabled Veterans
• Ethics in Business Scholarships Program
• Jose Marti Scholarship Challenge Grant Fund
• Rosewood Family Scholarship Fund

FLORIDA BRIGHT FUTURES SCHOLARSHIP

General Information

• A student who graduates from a Florida high school must apply and qualify for a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship his/her last year in high school before graduation.
• Students should go to the website at www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org to indicate the school they plan to attend. This ensures that the school receives students’ information electronically.
• Students must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program and transcripts from all prior colleges must be received before Bright Futures awards can be posted to his/her account.

If a student's Florida Academic Scholars award is renewed the following year to a Florida Medallion Scholars award due to receipt of a 2.75 - 2.99 cumulative GPA, how can his/her Florida Academic Scholarship be restored?

• A student has a one-time opportunity to restore his/her scholarship.
• Each subsequent renewal period, a renewing student will automatically be evaluated for restoration to the Florida Academic Scholars award if the student's cumulative GPA is reported by the home postsecondary institution at the minimum required 3.0 or above. No application is required.
• Funding will then be available to the student at the Florida Academic Scholars award level beginning in the fall of the upcoming academic year.  This will be the one-time restoration opportunity.
• A Florida Academic Scholar who loses the scholarship and then restores to a Florida Medallion Scholar (and accepts funding as a Florida Medallion Scholar), may not be awarded a second restoration to his/her original Florida Academic Scholarship.

*Students must be enrolled in a minimum of six (6) credit hours for Bright Futures to pay the appropriate portion of tuition and fees. Bright Futures does not pay for remedial coursework.

Please note: All prior college transcripts should be evaluated by the records department prior to the end of spring term.

LSCC Appeal Policy for Bright Futures

Students may file an academic progress appeal when they do not meet renewal requirements due to a verifiable illness or emergency beyond a student’s control, or to include other courses not already included in the GPA.

Deadline to apply:

Completed appeals with all supporting documentation must be submitted by August 30th of the same year following denial notification from OSFA.

For illness or emergency students must:

• Submit a Bright Futures Appeal Form (available in the Office of Financial Assistance)
• Provide a written statement of the circumstances of the illness or emergency and its impact on the student’s performance, and
• Documentation of the circumstances such as physician’s statement, accident report, or other pertinent reports. A parent(s)’ written statement, without further documentation, is not sufficient documentation.

NOTE: The illness or other emergency must be beyond the applicant’s control.

For GPA calculation students must:

• Submit a Bright Futures Appeal Form (available in the Office of Financial Assistance)
• An official transcript(s) from the previously attended postsecondary institution(s), if applicable.
• Students will be notified in writing of the appeal decision approximately two weeks from the receipt of a complete appeal. All appeal decisions made by the Office of Financial Assistance are final.

Renewal Requirements

Florida Academic Scholars (pays 100% tuition plus a book allowance)

• Minimum 3.0 GPA requirement
• A minimum of 6 hours earned per term funded is required    

Florida Medallion (pays 100% tuition at community colleges, 75% at all other schools)

• Minimum 2.75 GPA requirement
• A minimum of 6 hours earned per term funded is required

Florida Gold Seal Vocational (pays 75% tuition)

• Minimum 2.75 GPA requirement
• A minimum of 6 hours earned per term funded is required

Reinstatement Requirements for Bright Futures Scholarships

For eligible students who did not receive scholarship funds for the last academic year (fall through spring).

• A student must complete a Reinstatement/Restoration application available on the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) website at www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.Org.  Select State Grants, Scholarships & Applications, Apply Here, and then Reinstatement/Restoration Application.  Please note that the academic year for which a student is applying is at the top of the application.
• The Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) recommends that applications be submitted by July 1 for a timely fall disbursement or by December 15 for a belated fall or timely spring disbursement.  
•  If eligible for reinstatement, the student will receive the Bright Futures award (FAS, FMS, or GSV) for which he/she was last determined eligible.
• A student must apply to reinstate his/her award within three years of high school graduation and receive funding the immediate subsequent academic year.
• Once a student has received funding (for a minimum of one term), he/she is eligible to apply for reinstatement up to seven years from high school graduation.

Students Who Enlist in the Military

• An initially eligible student who enlists in the United States Armed Forces immediately after high school graduation must (within three years after separation from active duty):
• request reinstatement by completing and submitting a Reinstatement/Restoration application online and
• submit an official DD Form 214 via mail to verify time served in the military.
• A student who is receiving a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship and discontinues his/her education to enlist in the United States Armed Forces commences the remainder of his/her seven-year renewal period upon the date of separation from active duty.  To reinstate the scholarship, he/she must:
• complete and submit a Reinstatement/Restoration application online and
• submit an official DD Form 214 via mail to verify time served in the military.

The DD Form 214 should be mailed to:  Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, Suite 70, 1940 North Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32303-4759.

Restoration - (One-Time Opportunity Only!)
NOTE: A student may not be awarded restoration of the scholarship if he/she does not earn the six semester hours (or the equivalent in quarter or clock hours) per term funded required for renewal.
Restoration requirements for a student who loses his/her scholarship due to a low GPA.

• If a student's cumulative GPA (unrounded and unweighted), as reported by the home postsecondary institution, was less than a 2.75 and he/she was ineligible for funding, the student may apply for restoration in an academic year after which the 2.75 cumulative GPA requirement was met.  (The 2.75 GPA must be met before the fall term for which the student is applying.)
• To request restoration, a student must complete a Reinstatement/Restoration application available on the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) website at www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org by selecting the links State Grants, Scholarships & Applications, Apply Here, and then Reinstatement/Restoration Application for Students & Teachers.  Please note that the academic year for which a student is applying must be selected at the time of application.
• In addition to the application, the financial aid office at the Florida postsecondary institution where the student last attended as degree- or certificate-seeking must certify online the postsecondary institutional cumulative GPA that will determine his/her eligibility to restore.
• A student who last attended an out-of-state postsecondary institution must request that his/her official transcripts be submitted to:  Florida Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance, Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, Suite 70, 1940 North Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32303-4759.
• OSFA recommends that applications be submitted online by July 1 for a timely fall disbursement or by December 15 for a belated fall or timely spring disbursement.
• Funding is not available to a student prior to restoring the scholarship nor is it retroactive for any year.

If a student's Florida Academic Scholars award is renewed the following year to a Florida Medallion Scholars award due to receipt of a 2.75 - 2.99 cumulative GPA, how can his/her Florida Academic Scholarship be restored?

• A student has a one-time opportunity to restore his/her scholarship.
• Each subsequent renewal period, a renewing student will automatically be evaluated for restoration to the Florida Academic Scholars award if the student's cumulative GPA is reported by the home postsecondary institution at the minimum required 3.0 or above. No application is required.
• Funding will then be available to the student at the Florida Academic Scholars award level beginning in the fall of the upcoming academic year.  This will be the one-time restoration opportunity.
• A Florida Academic Scholar who loses the scholarship and then restores to a Florida Medallion Scholar (and accepts funding as a Florida Medallion Scholar), may not be awarded a second restoration to his/her original Florida Academic Scholarship.

Florida Department of Education Contact

State Grants/Scholarships/Bright Futures/loans
1-888-827-2004
www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org
Florida Prepaid
1-800-552-4723
www.floridaprepaidcollege.com