Florida Tuition Assistance Programs, Grants & Scholarships

Florida’s tuition assistance programs are administered by the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) and fall into three broad groups: the merit-based Bright Futures Scholarship, the need-based Florida Student Assistance Grant, and smaller targeted awards for specific populations such as Hispanic-American students and dependents of disabled or deceased veterans.¹ Each program has its own eligibility rules, its own application, and its own renewal standards. Missing one detail can cost you money you were otherwise entitled to receive.

Bright Futures Scholarship Tiers

Bright Futures is the state’s largest program and rewards Florida high school graduates for academic performance. It has four award levels, and every level requires completion of 16 college-preparatory high school courses across English, math, science, social studies, and world languages.²

Florida Academic Scholars

The top tier, FAS, covers 100 percent of tuition and applicable fees at any eligible Florida institution.³ You need a weighted 3.50 GPA in the 16 college-prep courses, 100 community service hours, and a minimum of 1340 on the SAT, 29 on the ACT, or 96 on the CLT.²

Florida Medallion Scholars

FMS covers 75 percent of tuition and applicable fees. Requirements are a weighted 3.00 GPA in the same 16 courses, 75 community service hours, and a minimum SAT score of 1210, ACT of 25, or CLT of 84.²

Gold Seal Vocational Scholars

GSV targets students concentrated in career and technical education. You need a weighted 3.0 GPA in your non-elective high school courses, a 3.5 unweighted GPA in career education courses, three full credits in a single CTE program, and 30 community service hours. Test requirements are lower, but every sub-score must clear the minimum on a single exam: ACT sub-scores of at least 17 English, 19 Reading, and 19 Math; or SAT scores of 440 Reading and 440 Math; or qualifying P.E.R.T. scores.

Gold Seal CAPE Scholars

This fourth tier rewards students who earn industry certifications. The main requirement is at least five postsecondary credit hours through CAPE industry certifications that articulate for college credit, plus 30 community service hours. Students who entered ninth grade in 2024–2025 or later need 75 hours.⁴

Need-Based Aid: The Florida Student Assistance Grant

The Florida Student Assistance Grant (FSAG) is the state’s main need-based grant for students at public institutions. Award amounts range from a minimum of $200 to a legislatively set annual maximum.⁵ For the 2025–2026 academic year, the maximum FSAG award is $3,260.⁶

Eligibility is determined from your FAFSA. By statute, no student whose expected family contribution exceeds one and one-half times the maximum Pell Grant-eligible family contribution can receive an FSAG award.⁵ Funding is limited, and institutions often distribute awards starting with the students who show the greatest need and filed their FAFSA earliest. FSAG applicants must also apply for the Pell Grant; the Pell entitlement is factored into the assessment of available resources.

You remain eligible for FSAG funding for up to 110 percent of the credit hours required to complete your degree program.⁵

Grants for Specific Populations

José Martí Scholarship Challenge Grant

This grant provides $2,000 per year to Hispanic-American students who demonstrate financial need of at least $2,000.⁷ Recipients must be enrolled full-time (12 credits for undergraduates or nine for graduate students). Deadlines differ by form: the FFAA must be submitted by April 1, while the FAFSA must be processed error-free by May 15.⁸ The April 1 FFAA deadline is the one students most often miss.

Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans

The CDDV scholarship covers educational costs for dependents of veterans who suffered service-related disabilities or died in the line of duty. The dependent must be between 16 and 22 and initially eligible before turning 23. Qualifying veterans must meet specific criteria related to Florida residency and the nature of their service-related condition.

Residency and General Eligibility

Every Florida state aid program requires at least one year of Florida residency before the first day of classes, for purposes other than attending school.⁹ You must also be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen, be accepted at an eligible Florida institution, and be enrolled in a degree or certificate program.

Proving residency takes at least two supporting documents, one of which must have been issued 12 or more months before the start of the term. Primary documents include a Florida driver’s license, voter registration card, vehicle registration, or proof of a Florida homestead exemption. A homestead exemption alone is conclusive proof of residency and needs no additional documentation.¹⁰ Utility bills, leases, and a declaration of domicile can serve as supplementary documents.

Knowingly providing false information on a state aid application is a second-degree misdemeanor, and you’ll be required to return any aid you received as a result.⁹

How to Apply

Florida aid takes two applications. The FAFSA determines your financial need and is required for need-based programs including FSAG. The Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA), managed by OSFA, is the state-specific application for Bright Futures and other Florida awards.¹¹

High school seniors can submit the FFAA starting October 1 of their senior year. The final deadline for initial Bright Futures applications is August 31 after high school graduation. For need-based aid, file the FAFSA as early as possible; FSAG dollars are limited and institutions frequently exhaust their allocations before the academic year begins. If you’re applying for a program with an earlier deadline, such as José Martí, work backward from that date.

Keeping Your Aid After the First Year

Renewal is where students lose money they’ve already earned. Both Bright Futures and FSAG are evaluated annually on GPA and completed credit hours.

Bright Futures GPA and Credit Hours

FAS recipients must maintain a cumulative college GPA of 3.0, and FMS recipients need a 2.75.¹² Required credit hours track your enrollment intensity. Full-time enrollment (12 or more hours) both fall and spring means you must earn 24 hours for the year. Full-time one term and three-quarter time (9–11 hours) the other drops the requirement to 21. Two half-time terms (6–8 hours each) means 12 earned hours for the year.¹³

An FAS recipient whose GPA falls below 3.0 but stays at or above 2.75 doesn’t lose Bright Futures outright. The scholarship renews at the FMS level for the next year, with the lower per-credit-hour rate. A one-time restoration may allow the student to return to FAS later.¹³

FSAG Renewal

To renew FSAG, you need a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0, half-time enrollment (six semester hours per term) or more, and completion of the credit hours matching your enrollment status: 12 per term for full-time, nine for three-quarter time, and six for half-time.⁹

Dropped and Withdrawn Courses

Drop or withdraw from a course after the add/drop period and Bright Futures will not cover those credit hours. You’ll be billed for the amount the scholarship already paid toward them. Academic petitions do not exempt you from repayment, and until you repay every dollar owed for dropped hours, you cannot renew your scholarship.¹⁴

Restoration and Reinstatement

Lose Bright Futures because your GPA dropped below 2.75 and you get one chance to restore it, but only if you met the credit hour requirement during the year you lost eligibility. You can take summer courses to raise your cumulative GPA above the renewal threshold and then submit a Reinstatement/Restoration Application through your OSFA account. An FAS scholar who raises the GPA back to 3.0 or above returns to FAS. A GPA between 2.75 and 2.99 restores only to FMS, with no further move back up.¹³

If you simply didn’t use your scholarship for a period, a separate reinstatement process is open for up to five years from high school graduation through the same OSFA application.¹³

Taxes on Scholarship and Grant Money

Scholarship and grant funds used to pay tuition and required fees are generally not taxable at the federal level. Amounts used for room and board, travel, or other non-tuition expenses must be reported as gross income on your federal return.¹⁵ This mostly affects students whose total aid package exceeds their tuition and fee charges, leaving a surplus for living expenses. If you owe tax on scholarship income, you may need to make estimated tax payments during the year instead of waiting until you file.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 1009.53 – Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program
2
Florida International University. Bright Futures
3
University of Florida. Florida Bright Futures Program Details
4
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 1009.536 – Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars Award
5
Florida Senate. Florida Code 1009.50 – Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program
6
Florida Student Financial Aid. 2025-26 FSAG Awards
7
Justia Regulation. Florida Administrative Code 6A-20.023 – Jose Marti Scholarship Challenge Grant Fund
8
Florida Department of Education. Jose Marti Scholarship Challenge Grant Fund Fact Sheet
9
Florida Senate. Florida Code 1009.40 – General Requirements for Student Eligibility for State Financial Aid
10
University of Florida. Residency for Tuition
11
Florida Department of Education. Financial Aid
12
University of Central Florida. Bright Futures Renewal Eligibility
13
Florida Student Financial Aid. Bright Futures Student Handbook – Chapter 3
14
University of South Florida. What Happens to My Bright Futures if I Drop Classes
15
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 421, Scholarships, Fellowship Grants, and Other Grants