For the first time, Bright Futures scholarship recipients are required to fill out Free Application for Federal Aid.
Students who do not properly fill out this application on time will forfeit the year’s award. Because Gov. Rick Scott just recently signed the bill for this requirement on July 1, universities across the state are scrambling to notify their students about the change.
The Beacon believes that this has placed an unnecessary burden upon Florida students. The form, which requires parental tax and income information for dependents, can be difficult for college students to complete without sufficient time and preparation.
Students who do not complete their FAFSA by Aug. 30 risk receiving their scholarship after the tuition deadline — a delay that could result in students being dropped from classes for non-payment.
Failure to fill out the form will force a student to reapply for award for the following academic year. This is a potential problem for many students, especially if Bright Futures is the only way attending school is feasible.
The additional step to receiving the award is inconvenient. Students are awarded the same amount, regardless of their financial status.
According to State Sen. Evelyn Lynn, a Republican who chairs the Senate’s subcommittee on higher education funding, the new FAFSA rule was designed only to collect statistical data on Florida students — not to exclude future recipients based on financial standing.
Essentially, students are required to complete a pointless step before they can collect the scholarship they previously earned.
Bright Futures is a merit-based scholarship, not need-based. Requiring students to fill out their financial information on a form that takes 45 minutes or so to complete seems intensive for a statistical analysis.
The consequences for not filling out the FAFSA results in the loss of the scholarship. We do not see the correlation between the two concepts. Students should not lose their merit based scholarship solely because they did not fill out a form that reports their family’s yearly income.
Students who do not properly fill out this application on time will forfeit the year’s award. Because Gov. Rick Scott just recently signed the bill for this requirement on July 1, universities across the state are scrambling to notify their students about the change.
The Beacon believes that this has placed an unnecessary burden upon Florida students. The form, which requires parental tax and income information for dependents, can be difficult for college students to complete without sufficient time and preparation.
Students who do not complete their FAFSA by Aug. 30 risk receiving their scholarship after the tuition deadline — a delay that could result in students being dropped from classes for non-payment.
Failure to fill out the form will force a student to reapply for award for the following academic year. This is a potential problem for many students, especially if Bright Futures is the only way attending school is feasible.
The additional step to receiving the award is inconvenient. Students are awarded the same amount, regardless of their financial status.
According to State Sen. Evelyn Lynn, a Republican who chairs the Senate’s subcommittee on higher education funding, the new FAFSA rule was designed only to collect statistical data on Florida students — not to exclude future recipients based on financial standing.
Essentially, students are required to complete a pointless step before they can collect the scholarship they previously earned.
Bright Futures is a merit-based scholarship, not need-based. Requiring students to fill out their financial information on a form that takes 45 minutes or so to complete seems intensive for a statistical analysis.
The consequences for not filling out the FAFSA results in the loss of the scholarship. We do not see the correlation between the two concepts. Students should not lose their merit based scholarship solely because they did not fill out a form that reports their family’s yearly income.
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