Whether they believe they're eligible for anything or not, ALL seniors who are US citizens or permanent residents should apply for state-funded scholarships and grants by submitting the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) aka Bright Futures Application beginning October 1st of their senior year. It does not matter if they are eligible for an award when they apply. The FFAA is simply an authorization form that permits the state to award all of the Florida money a student qualifies for, whenever they qualify for it. So, complete the easy FFAA as soon as it opens! There's no benefit to waiting.

 

The FFAA authorizes the state of Florida to evaluate students' transcripts not only for Bright Futures but for many different state-funded scholarships and grants, some of which are first-come, first-served. One of those scholarships is Florida Bright Futures. Students should complete the FFAA as close to October 1st as possible!! Students must submit at least one SAT/ACT/CLT score to a Florida public college or university to ensure their test scores can be viewed by the state and must earn eligible scores, grades AND community service hours.