{"answer":"Florida students graduating in 2027 need a 3.50 weighted GPA, a 1330 SAT or 29 ACT, and 100 service hours for Florida Academic Scholars, which pays 100% of tuition and the fees the state lists at a public college. Florida Medallion Scholars asks for a 3.00 weighted GPA, a 1190 SAT or 24 ACT, and 75 volunteer hours, and pays 75%.","as_of":"October 2026","date":"2026-10-15","dek":"The table holds the four Bright Futures awards and the bar each one sets for this graduating class. It does not cover the renewal rules that apply once a student is in college.","faq":[{"a":"Academic Scholars asks for a 3.50 weighted GPA and a 1330 SAT, a 29 ACT, or a 95 CLT.","q":"What GPA and test score does Bright Futures require in 2027?"},{"a":"Florida Academic Scholars pays 100% of tuition and the fees the state lists at a public college.","q":"How much of tuition does Bright Futures pay?"},{"a":"The SAT and CLT scores are built from the best section scores across any sitting that counts.","q":"Do the test scores have to come from one sitting?"}],"findings":[{"h":"Two awards, two different bars.","p":"Florida Academic Scholars is the higher award. Academic Scholars asks for a 3.50 weighted GPA and a 1330 SAT, a 29 ACT, or a 95 CLT. Florida Medallion Scholars asks for a 3.00 weighted GPA and a 1190 SAT, a 24 ACT, or an 82 CLT. The same test score can clear one bar and miss the other."},{"h":"The award is a share of tuition, not a flat check.","p":"Florida Academic Scholars pays 100% of tuition and the fees the state lists at a public college. Florida Medallion Scholars pays 75%, and 100% for a student in an associate degree program at a Florida College System institution. Neither award is a dollar figure a family can count on at a private or out-of-state college."},{"h":"Hours can come from paid work.","p":"Academic Scholars needs 100 hours, and they can be volunteer service, paid work, or a mix of the two. Medallion needs 75 hours of volunteer service, or 100 hours if any of it is paid. The two Gold Seal awards need 30 volunteer hours, and 75 for a student who started grade 9 in 2024-25 or later."}],"license":"CC BY 4.0 \u2014 quote with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach)","method":"The requirements are from the Bright Futures Student Handbook for 2026-2027, chapters 1 and 2, and the state's own FAS and FMS initial eligibility chart. The population is Florida high school students graduating in the 2026-2027 school year; an earlier or later graduating class has different score minimums. Rows are the four award levels in the order the handbook lists them. Renewal rules, per-college disbursement, and the lists of qualifying career and technical programs are not covered here.","question":"What do my child's grades, scores and service hours need to be for Florida Bright Futures?","related":[{"label":"Florida high schools and the Bright Futures calculator","url":"/florida"},{"label":"Which colleges require the SAT or ACT","url":"/test-policy"},{"label":"College application deadlines for fall 2027","url":"/research/college-application-deadlines-2027"},{"label":"Test Prep Gurus explainers","url":"https://www.prepgurus.com/explainers"}],"sections":[{"h2":"How the test score is counted","paragraphs":["Bright Futures does not need one strong sitting. The SAT and CLT scores are built from the best section scores across any sitting that counts. The ACT uses the highest score in each subject area, and a student may test as many times as they like.","The calendar is the hard part. Tests have to be taken on or before August 31 of the graduation year, which is August 31, 2027 for this year's seniors, and mid-year graduates have until January 31. The Florida Financial Aid Application is due by that same August 31 date, and a student who misses it cannot receive the money at all."]},{"h2":"The two Gold Seal awards do not fit the same table","paragraphs":["Gold Seal Vocational Scholars and Gold Seal CAPE Scholars are career and technical awards, and their rules are a different shape. Gold Seal Vocational sets minimum scores on single sections of the ACT, SAT or Florida PERT, and those sections cannot be added into one composite the way the other two awards work. Gold Seal CAPE has no test score at all. It asks for five postsecondary credit hours earned through industry certifications that carry college credit.","The dollars are shaped differently too. The handbook states Academic and Medallion funding as a share of tuition and fees rather than a rate per credit hour, so there is no single per-credit figure for those two awards. The Gold Seal awards do carry one: $39 a semester hour for the shorter programs and $48 a semester hour for associate and some bachelor's programs."]},{"h2":"What a family should do with this","paragraphs":["Start with the hours, because they are the part that runs out of time. A rising junior with none logged still has two summers. A senior with most of them already done does not. Log hours as they happen, with the dates and a supervisor's name, and log paid work the same way.","Then look at the gap between the two score bars. A student sitting at a 1190 SAT already clears Medallion, and the climb to the 1330 that Academic Scholars asks for can come from one strong section on a later test, because the state adds the best sections together. File the Florida Financial Aid Application in the spring of senior year, long before the deadline, because the application is what turns eligibility into money."]}],"slug":"bright-futures-2026-27","sources":[{"label":"Bright Futures Student Handbook, Chapter 1: Initial Eligibility Requirements (2026-27)","url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/bfhandbookchapter1.pdf"},{"label":"Bright Futures Student Handbook, Chapter 2: What You Need to Know Now That You Are Eligible (2026-27)","url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/bfhandbookchapter2.pdf"},{"label":"Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program FAS/FMS 2026-27 initial eligibility chart","url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/fas-fms.pdf"}],"tables":[{"columns":[{"fmt":"str","key":"award","label":"Award"},{"fmt":"str","key":"gpa","label":"GPA"},{"fmt":"int","key":"sat","label":"SAT"},{"fmt":"int","key":"act","label":"ACT"},{"fmt":"int","key":"clt","label":"CLT"},{"fmt":"str","key":"service_hours","label":"Service hours"},{"fmt":"str","key":"award_amount","label":"What it pays"}],"h2":"What each Bright Futures award requires","intro":"One row per award, in the order the state handbook lists them.","note":"These are the initial eligibility minimums for Florida students graduating in the 2026-2027 school year, as the state handbook prints them. A blank test score means the award sets no composite: Gold Seal Vocational uses minimum scores on single ACT, SAT or PERT sections, and Gold Seal CAPE requires no test score at all. Minimums change from one graduating class to the next.","rows":[{"act":29,"award":"Florida Academic Scholars (FAS)","award_amount":"100% of tuition and applicable fees at a public postsecondary institution","clt":95,"gpa":"3.50 weighted","quote":"FAS 4 - English ... 3.50 ... 2026-27 Graduates: 29/95/1330 ... 100 hours / 100 hours / 100 hours","sat":1330,"service_hours":"100 hours (volunteer service only, paid work only, or a combination of both)","source_url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/bfhandbookchapter1.pdf"},{"act":24,"award":"Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS)","award_amount":"75% of tuition and applicable fees at a public postsecondary institution (100% if enrolled in an associate degree program at a Florida College System institution)","clt":82,"gpa":"3.00 weighted","quote":"FMS ... 3.00 ... 2026-27 Graduates: 24/82/1190 ... 75 hours / 100 hours / 100 hours","sat":1190,"service_hours":"75 hours volunteer-only; 100 hours if paid-work-only or a combination","source_url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/bfhandbookchapter1.pdf"},{"act":null,"award":"Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV)","award_amount":"Fixed per-credit-hour amount by program ($39/semester hour for PSAV or ATD programs; $48/semester hour for AS/AAS/CCC or qualifying BS/BAS programs, 2026-27)","clt":null,"gpa":"3.0 weighted (non-elective courses) and 3.5 unweighted (CTE credits)","quote":"Achieve the required minimum score on the ACT, SAT or Florida Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (PERT) exams ... ACT Reading 19 English 17 Mathematics 19; SAT Critical Reading or Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 490, Mathematics 480","sat":null,"service_hours":"30 hours volunteer-only (75 hours for students entering grade 9 in 2024-25 or later); 100 hours paid-work-only or combination","source_url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/bfhandbookchapter1.pdf"},{"act":null,"award":"Gold Seal CAPE Scholars (GSC)","award_amount":"Fixed per-credit-hour amount by program ($39-$48/semester hour, 2026-27); may also cover up to 60 credit hours toward a qualifying bachelor's degree after an associate degree","clt":null,"gpa":null,"quote":"Earn a minimum of five postsecondary credit hours through CAPE industry certifications that articulate for college credit; and Complete 30* volunteer service hours, 100 paid work hours, or the combination of both for 100 total hours.","sat":null,"service_hours":"30 hours volunteer-only (75 hours for students entering grade 9 in 2024-25 or later); 100 hours paid-work-only or combination","source_url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/bfhandbookchapter1.pdf"}]},{"columns":[{"fmt":"str","key":"claim","label":"Rule"},{"fmt":"str","key":"value","label":"As stated"},{"fmt":"url","key":"source_url","label":"Source"}],"h2":"The rules behind the numbers","intro":"One row per published rule, with the state document that states it.","note":"Each row is one statement from the 2026-2027 Bright Futures handbook or the state's own eligibility chart. The value column is the figure or rule as the document states it, not our reading of it.","rows":[{"claim":"FAS award pays 100% of tuition and applicable fees at a public institution","fetched":"2026-10-15","quote":"Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) will receive an award to cover 100% of tuition and applicable fees listed below when attending a public postsecondary institution.","source_url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/bfhandbookchapter2.pdf","value":"100%"},{"claim":"FMS award pays 75% of tuition and applicable fees at a public institution (100% for an associate degree at a Florida College System institution)","fetched":"2026-10-15","quote":"Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) will receive an award to cover 75% of tuition and applicable fees ... Students enrolled in an associate degree program at a Florida College System institution will receive an award to cover 100% of tuition and applicable fees.","source_url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/bfhandbookchapter2.pdf","value":"75% (100% for FCS associate degree)"},{"claim":"Application deadline is the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) no later than August 31 after high school graduation","fetched":"2026-10-15","quote":"Students must APPLY for the scholarship by submitting the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) no later than August 31, 2027. If a student does not apply for the scholarship by the deadline, a student cannot receive the scholarship!","source_url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/bfhandbookchapter1.pdf","value":"August 31, 2027 for 2027 graduates"},{"claim":"Test scores are NOT required from a single sitting; SAT and CLT combined scores are the best section scores across any timely sitting, and ACT uses the highest score in each subject area across sittings taken any number of times","fetched":"2026-10-15","quote":"The SAT combined score is the sum of the best Reading ... and Math section scores from any timely test sitting of the SAT. ... The ACT, CLT, or SAT exams may be taken an unlimited number of times on or before August 31 of the high school graduation year","source_url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/bfhandbookchapter1.pdf","value":"superscored across sittings, not single-sitting"},{"claim":"Tests must be taken on or before August 31 of the graduation year (or January 31 for mid-year graduates) to count","fetched":"2026-10-15","quote":"Tests must be taken on or before August 31 of the student's graduation year (or through January 31 for mid-year graduates), per the chart below.","source_url":"https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/pdf/fas-fms.pdf","value":"August 31, 2027 (or January 31 for mid-year graduates)"}]}],"title":"Florida Bright Futures requirements for students graduating in 2027","updated":null,"url":"https://highschoolreach.com/research/bright-futures-2026-27"}