The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program establishes lottery-funded scholarships to reward Florida high school graduates for high academic achievement.

 

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Student Handbook

• Chapter 1:  Initial Eligibility
• Chapter 2:  Scholarship Information
• Chapter 3:  Renewal Eligibility

Bright Futures Student Handbook

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Volunteer Service/Paid Work Hours Paperwork

To be eligible to receive one of the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Awards, students must complete either volunteer service hours or paid work hours. 

 

• Proposal forms must be approved by a counselor PRIOR to logging hours. 
• A proposal form, log sheet and reflection form must be completed for each organization and/or business. 

Proposal form 

 

Log and reflection forms

 

Potential Volunteer Service Projects

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Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA)

Students must submit a completed Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) for the Bright Futures Scholarship program.

 

• The FFAA opens every year on October 1st.
•  Students in their Senior year of high school must complete the FFAA before they graduate. 

Create a Student Account

Complete the FFAA

For assistance completing the FFAA, review the guide below for step-by-step instructions.

 

2026-27 FFAA Reference Guide

 

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Access Bright Futures Eligibility Evaluations through Xello

Xello Guide

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Additional Information

• To ensure that the Bright Futures' State Test Repository receives your ACT, CLT, or SAT scores, request your official single sitting test scores be sent to one of Florida’s public colleges (e.g., SPC, HCC, TCC, etc.) or state universities (e.g., FSU, UCF, USF, etc.) when registering for the ACT, CLT, or SAT.  

• Beginning with the 2025-26 high school graduation class, the ACT Science section is OPTIONAL for Bright Futures eligibility purposes. The ACT composite score will be calculated using the following policies:
  • Students who have never taken the Science section will have three sections (English, Math, Reading) added together and divided by three.
  • Students who have ACT scores with Science will have two averages calculated (with and without Science), which will consist of:
    • Four sections (English, Math, Reading, Science) added together and divided by four, and
    • Three sections (English, Math, Reading) added together and divided by three.
    • Note: The higher average of these two composite scores will be used for Bright Futures evaluation purposes.
      • Composite scores ending in 0.50 or higher will be rounded up to the next whole number.
      • Composite scores use the highest score achieved within each of the individual subject areas.
• The AP Capstone diploma is another pathway to earning a Bright Futures scholarship:

 

What are the benefits of AP Capstone?

 

Students can earn the AP Capstone Diploma™. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing receive the AP Capstone Diploma™.

 

Participating in AP Capstone can help students:

 

·       Stand out on college applications.

·       Develop key academic skills for college and beyond.

·       Become self-confident, independent thinkers and problem solvers.

·       Earn college credit: Many colleges offer credit for qualifying scores.

 

Bright Futures Scholarship Opportunity: Florida House Bill 1105 authorizes the use of the AP Capstone designation to meet specific diploma eligibility requirements for the Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) award under the Bright Futures Scholarship Program.  

 

To qualify for the Bright Futures Florida Academic Scholars award through the AP Capstone Diploma pathway for current 10th, 11th, and 12th graders, students must achieve:

 

·       A score of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research

·       Scores of 3 or higher on four additional AP Exams of the student’s choice

 

To qualify for the Bright Futures Florida Academic Scholars award through the AP Capstone Diploma pathway for current 9th graders and future students, students must achieve:

 

·       A score of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research

·       Scores of 3 or higher on three AP Exams that satisfy graduation requirements in English Language Arts, Math, Science, or Social Studies

·       A score of 3 or higher on one additional AP Exam of the student’s choice

 

It is important to note that earning the AP Capstone designation does not replace the requirements for earning a standard high school diploma.

 

AP Capstone Diploma and Bright Futures Information