College Question, Can You Help??

[figaromeetsmarie]

I posted this question in the college forum but didn't get any bites so I thought someone here might have some thoughts.


We currently live in Georgia and have the advantage of basically free college (Hope Scholorship) if you keep a certain grade point average (don't know the actual score off hand 3.0 maybe). Due to a job situation we might need to move in the upcoming months and I was wondering if there are any other states that have a state funded college program similiar or otherwise to our Hope since we have a daughter who will be a HS Senior next year

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[disney junky]

All I can tell you is to avoid Pennsylvania....

 

[MUFFYCAT]

And New York....

 

[MyManGoofy!]

Florida has Bright Futures.

 

[DemonLlama]

Texas has a Hope program.

 

[Pam]

All I can tell you is to avoid Pennsylvania....

Isn't that the truth!!

We have a dd who is a junior in college (HS gpa was 3.96) and our son starts college in the fall (He's a senior with a 4.1 gpa) --- financial aid is a JOKE here. And there is no Hope program.

I think Florida has some kind of program and I believe that Missouri does, too.

 

[bsnyder]

Florida has a very generous program (too generous, IMO, but that's a debate for another thread).

Here's the link to the Bright Futures website:

http://www.firn.edu/doe/brfutures/index.html

Please note, the Bright Futures scholarships can be applied for use at Florida's private colleges and universities, to reduce the overall tuition rate at those private schools.

 

[CarolG]

I think South Carolina has a relatively new lottery-funded program similar to Georgia's Hope Scholarship.

What states are you considering if you move? There may be residency requirements for state-funded scholarships.

 

[tkd lisa]

Florida's bright futures as I understand it:

GPA 3.5 or better (core classes only, electives don't count), + 75 hours community service during high school - 100% tuition and fees. (they average all FL state schools and determine this amount). Can be applied to a private school as well, but funding is set on public schools average.


GPA 3.0 or better (core classes only) + 10? hours community service - 75% tuition and fees

There's a third option, which looks different than the counselor explained last spring. It's geared toward vocational schools. The GPA requirement DOES include some electives, and it did pay 50% of tuition and fees. The website now seems to imply 75%, but I don't have details.

There's a detailed website if you search google for Florida Bright Futures.

 

[csuzannet]

Illinois does NOT have a similar program.

However, people who live in the city of (?) Kalamazoo have a generous option for attending Western Michigan.

I have a couple of friends on the faculty of WMU, and I THINK that's the program as they described it to me.

 

[Cindy B]

NJ has a too generous program as well. I think its called Bright Futures or something like that.

Of course, I am too old and this program was enacted 15 years after I graduate high school.

 

[Buckalew11]

TN has a HOPE scholarship since we got the lottery but it isn't as nice as the sweet GA deal. Good luck!

 

[bsnyder]

Florida's bright futures as I understand it:

GPA 3.5 or better (core classes only, electives don't count), + 75 hours community service during high school - 100% tuition and fees. (they average all FL state schools and determine this amount). Can be applied to a private school as well, but funding is set on public schools average.


GPA 3.0 or better (core classes only) + 10? hours community service - 75% tuition and fees

There's a third option, which looks different than the counselor explained last spring. It's geared toward vocational schools. The GPA requirement DOES include some electives, and it did pay 50% of tuition and fees. The website now seems to imply 75%, but I don't have details.

There's a detailed website if you search google for Florida Bright Futures.

For both levels of Bright Futures, there are minimum test scores required too. they use either a composite SAT score or the ACT score.

For Florida Academic Scholars (100% tuition) it's a 1270 composite SAT
For Florida Medallion Scholars (75% tuition) it's a 970 composite SAT

In addition to the academic requirements, the general requirements to qualify are:

General Requirements to Receive State-Funded Student Financial Aid for Bright Futures Awards

*Be a Florida resident and a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, as determined by the student's postsecondary institution.
*Earn a standard Florida high school diploma or its equivalent.
*Be accepted by and enroll in an eligible Florida public or independent postsecondary education institution, within 3 years of high school graduation. If you enlist directly into the military after graduation, your three-year period begins on the date you separated from active duty.
*Be enrolled for at least 6 semester credit hours (12 semester credit hours for early admission students) or the equivalent in quarter hours or clock hours.
*Not have been found guilty of, or plead nolo contendere to, a felony charge, unless the student has been granted clemency by the Governor and Cabinet sitting as the Executive Office of Clemency.
*Apply for a scholarship from the program by high school graduation.

 

[Pam]

Upon reflection - I believe that California has a college program as well.

 

[becka]

Missouri has what is called the Bright Flight scholarship program. However it is all based on the ACT scores. If you are in the top 2% (I believe that is the correct percent) of all ACT scores (composite score 30 or over) you qualify for a $2000/year scholarship to any school, public or private, in the state. The scholarship is nice and if you qualify you usually can get other financial aid at schools in the state but it is no guarantee of a full ride.

 

[MyManGoofy!]

The Florida Bright Futures has no financial need component - it is purely academic based? Is that right?

 

[Darcy03231]

As a previous poster mentioned, make sure you check the residency requirements. Most states require you live there for a least a year, and, I beleive California is three years (I have a friend who moved there and that was what it was when she moved there about 7 years ago).

 

[becka]

I think the only requirement for Missouri's program is that you graduate from a Missouri school. I know I moved to Missouri when my Dad was stationed here in July before my senior year. I had a 29 on my ACT and they encouraged me take the test again to see if I could get the 30 and then qualify. I did get a 30 and ended up selecting a Missouri school so I qualified for the scholarship. My Dad was actually given orders that moved us to Ft. Lewis, Washington and we left just days after my HS graduation but because I graduated here from a Missouri high school I still qualified for the scholarship all 4 years even though I lived here less than a year.

 

[LindaR]

New Mexico has the Lottery Scholarship so basically college is free as long as you maintain a 2.5 GPA. Much to my daughter's disappointment (she really wants to attend CU-Boulder and has been accepted everywhere she applied) the tuition is so high for out-of-state folks ($40k+) that she now knows that she's attending UNM (free) because I WILL NOT get in debt $120K for four years of school!

 

[mamacatnv]

Nevada has what is called the Millennium Scholarship for all Nevada H.S. graduates. (I do not know if there is a number of years in NV highschool requirement) as far as I know it is touted with "Any NV H.S. graduate"

For the class of 2008 the requirement is a 3.25 cumulative GPA (weighted is ok) and the state will fund $2500 per year for a max of $10K for any institute of higher learning within the state ie. UNR or UNLV or the Community College System.

There are GPA's that must be maintained and the maximum number of paid credits per year is regulated.

The scholarship fund was put into place with some of the tobacco money the state received. The scholarship is currently funded thru the year 2014. It is an ongoing legislative debate as to GPA's, qualifications etc. but is holding strong. There is some serious talk of incorporating some type of standardized test as well to qualify, but so far that has not been instituted.

My DS is on line to qualify for it and we are encouraging him to attend school in NV. for at least the first couple of years because of it.