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Financial Aid & Scholarships

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Paying for College

Bright Futures

The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program consists of three awards: Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) award, Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) award and the Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV) award. 

To receive FAS or the FMS scholarship students must submit the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) no later than August 31 after high school graduation, complete the 16 college-preparatory courses required for admission to a state university, achieve the required weighted GPA in the 16 college-preparatory courses, complete the required number of service hour, achieve the required combined ACT® or composite SAT®.

To receive the Gold Seal Scholarship students must submit the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) no later than August 31 after high school graduation, achieve the required weighted 3.0 GPA in the non-elective high school courses, take at least 3 full credits in a single Career and Technical Education program, achieve the required minimum 3.5 unweighted GPA in the career education courses, complete 30 service hours, and achieve the required minimum scores on one of the college entrance. 

Bright Futures Registration Directions (Registration Cheat Sheet) Use this to apply here https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org

Education’s Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) at OSFA@fldoe.org or toll free at 1-888-827-2004.

 

Seniors, NEW Bright Futures and Volunteer hours Info

In an effort to meet the volunteer hours required for Bright Futures, seniors need to view the VPP student training presentation. Print and complete the VPP Student Volunteer Post Test and bring to Ms. Coy in Guidance or email the completed test to glhousto@volusia.k12.fl.us.

Must be completed before May 18.

  1. Bright Futures VPP Training Handbook
  2. Bright Futures VPP Presentation
  3. Bright Futures VPP Post Test

Here are some suggestions and guidelines for student wanting to earn community service hours:

  • deliver food or do yard work for an elderly neighbor, etc.
  • Anything that is addressing a community need for which they are not being paid and are not risking their health.
  • Go to VolunteerMatch to find effective ways to match students with online volunteer activities.

Parents can sign off that they have completed the hours. The students can return this form to Guidance

Florida Pre-Paid programs

Florida Prepaid College Plans have specific dates to enroll, but you can request information to be sent for the next open enrollment. However, you can open a Florida 529 Savings Plan account at any time. Using the links below, you can view the Florida 529 Savings Plan Guide to learn more about the importance of saving for college and the options we offer.

www.myfloridaprepaid.com/compare-plans/

 

SCHOLARSHIP TIPS:

  • Students, searching and applying for scholarships can be time-consuming and hard work.  Please take a few preparatory steps before you begin your search to ensure that your time will be well spent and fruitful.  Planning ahead is EVERYTHING!
  • Prepare a resume - Educational or Work Related; keep a log or folder of "things" you do, places you've gone, people you've met, lessons you've learned.  It will all come in handy when preparing your 100 words of WOW!
  • Get reference letters written early.  Begin getting reference letters from your minister, your employer, your teachers, your guidance counselors, your coaches, your babysitting families, etc.  Make 10-15 copies of each and have them sign them individually.  Then keep them all in the folder with your resumes.
  • Keep an extra 10-15 wallet size pictures of yourself.  Many scholarships require a headshot.
  • Keep your persuasive and informative essays from high school close by and electronically filed.  They will come in handy when you are trying to write an essay for each of the scholarships you choose.
  • Make copies of everything you send off.  Don't ever trust that just because you put a stamp on it or handed it to someone that it is going to reach its destination.
  • All that you can – in general, the more you apply for, the better your chances of receiving one become.
  • Any scholarship that a student can receive will help to defray the cost of college.

WHERE TO LOOK FOR SCHOLARSHIPS

  1. Check with the college you will be attending for any scholarships they offer- most colleges and universities have a variety available. 
  2. Use internet searches – there are literally millions of available scholarships – one challenge with internet searches is that many of the resources are specific to a particular college or major or have some other limiting requirements.  Another challenge is that if it’s available on the internet the number of students applying is usually very large, which typically lowers the odds of receiving a particular scholarship. 
  3. Regularly check the Scholarship List below for updates and new local scholarship opportunities. Many of these are also scholarships that are only Seabreeze students are able to apply for.  In general, this scholarships will have fewer students apply for them so the odds of receiving them are better.
  4. Visit: jumpstart to scholarship opportunities. 
  5. Sign-up for an account at: www.goingmerry.com (thousands of online applications)

It’s on ongoing process – most of the scholarships out there are for seniors so start searching early in your senior year.  Students should be checking every couple of weeks throughout the year as we are adding scholarships each month from October until early May.

If the scholarship must be returned to the school, please take a picture of each page, then email them as attachments to cmles@volusia.k12.fl.us Please include a message with your name, alpha code and which scholarship you are including in the email. Each completed scholarship should be emailed separately.   If you would like a copy of your transcript, please follow the steps below:

  • Unofficial copy of your transcript, please email fafrank1@volusia.k12.fl.us and in the subject line include your first and last name, alpha code, unofficial transcript. You CAN NOT receive a printed copy of the unofficial transcript.
  • Official copies are used for colleges (that cannot be sent electronically) and some scholarships ONLY. Email fafrank1@volusia.k12.fl.us for additional instructions

Check out our Local Scholarship Page - 2025 LOCAL SCHOLARSHIP LIST

(Check back often, new scholarships are added as we receive them)

 

NON-LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS

Apply On-Line