Bright Futures- CAUTION

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Florida
21

<p>I've already expressed my support for a merit-based Bright Futures. I was only criticizing your beliefs on the credibility of professors from UNF.</p>

<p>The original purpose of Bright Futures was to keep high-achieving students in the state. (And, IMHO, to prevent students rejected by UF from leaving Florida instead of attending another state university.) It was never intended to be a program to financially assist anyone. Instead, it was created with the intention of establishing a more professional workforce in Florida to offset the many low-paying service and hospitality industry jobs we have here.</p>

<p>In other words, if the brightest students with the greatest potential to attain professional careers go to school in Florida, they are more likely to live here. If they live here, a professional job market can grow.</p>

22

<p>^ that's a solid articulation of why we should favor the merit-based aspects of the scholarship.</p>

<p>It is about Florida's economy plain and simple.</p>

23

<p>"Who cares what some Tier 4 professor at UNF thinks. She can spew that class warfare rhetoric at the wall for all that I care."</p>

<p>"dvm stick to the argument"</p>

<p>You brought the credentials of the source of information into the argument.</p>

<p>"Look I will ask you point blank: do you want the state to invest in Florida's best & brightest, or those who need remediation?"</p>

<p>The question could be, do you want the state to spend limited scholarship funds on those who don't need a scholarship to go to college, or invest in making more of our citizens productive by giving funds to those who would not have a post-secondary education otherwise?</p>

<p>I'm in favor of Bright Futures as it stands now, from a purely self-interested standpoint. All three of my sons earned the 100% Bright Futures. Perhaps Bright Futures should change to increase the requirements and award amount of the 100% scholarship (if we are really after the Best and the Brightest, as you say) and add an income cutoff or needs requirement for the 75% award.</p>

<p>I REALLY find it amusing to read your post criticizing class warfare, when it appears from your posts that you are a very enthusiastic warrior. I happen to believe it is in the interest of society at large to help people move up the socioeconomic ladder. And help is required, for many. This isn't do-gooder, bleeding heart stuff. Florida is funded by taxes. You have to have money get taxed. Better educated people tend to make more money. </p>

<p>I'd rather have my tax dollars educate 10 people who will have the potential to earn $60,000 a year than one $600,000 CEO. Those people can give back and become contributors in their communities, creating the potential for even more people to extend their reach, etc., etc. And who knows? Maybe one of the 10 might even do something that is great, by your standards.</p>

<p>I've worked with the people you glibly dismiss as lazy and unworthy of help. Some of them might even need (gasp) remediation in order to fulfill their potential. But I know many of them will take full advantage of an educational opportunity, and frankly, we've seen recently just what a GREAT job the "best and brightest" have the potential to do, i.e., the financial meltdown. Frankly, I'd like a few hard workers.</p>

24

<p>"We should have the scholarship be merit-based so the the best & brightest do not leave the state (regardless of the economic background). It's an investment, not a social program."</p>

<p>The best and brightest will be leaving if they can afford to. UF's student body may be incredibly bright, but their ability to access courses with brilliant professors is in jeopardy. The legislature doesn't want to increase tuition (which is currently lower than any parochial school tuition) because the state will have to foot the bill, thus there is less money to pay professors and support staff, meaning larger and larger class sizes. We've seen many great professors pack up and leave because they can have a better experience and be paid more elsewhere.</p>

25

<p>the poor kids should do better in HS and break the class cycle and move up in life and earn their BF like the rest of Floridians have to.</p>

26

<p>S’ils n’ont plus de pain, qu’ils mangent de la brioche.</p>

<p>....or, as has been mistakenly attributed to Marie Antoinette,
let them eat cake</p>

<p>:)</p>

27

<p>...Ich kann das nicht lesen.</p>

<p>Let's type in english plz. :D</p>

28

<p>"The legislature doesn't want to increase tuition (which is currently lower than any parochial school tuition) because the state will have to foot the bill, thus there is less money to pay professors and support staff, meaning larger and larger class sizes. We've seen many great professors pack up and leave because they can have a better experience and be paid more elsewhere."</p>

<p>Haven't you been following Higher Education policy in Florida?</p>

<p>The first step was to get Tution Differential - which we did and UF & FSU get to raise tuition by 40% above and beyond the other universities. USF, UCF, and FIU are allowed to raise tuition 30% above and beyond the others as well.</p>

<p>Now Governor Crist has stipulated that it is his intention to allow every institution within the State University System of Florida to raise tuition by 15% a year, for every year until the national average is reached.</p>

29

<p>To make up for this major increase in tuiton costs, the Community Colleges will now be allowed to offer 4 year degrees almost across the board (the creation of the State College System). If they can't afford a State University education then they will have the option of attending one of these new expanded institutions.</p>

30

<p>The recent tuition increases will not bring the university system into the black and able to move forward anytime soon. BF's bar is too low and too many rich kids are on a full ride.</p>

<p>"Is Bright Futures a Dumb Policy?"<br>
Is</a> Bright Futures a 'dumb' policy? | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun | Gainesville, FL</p>

31

<p>Interesting, isn't it, that to the political elites paying for a bunch of middle class kids to attend state universities is a "dumb" policy.</p>

<p>It starts with the assumption that students whose family's income approaches $100,000.00 a year are "rich kids." Two classroom teachers who have been teaching for long enough to raise a seventeen-year-old will likely have their combined income approach $100,000.00. They'd scoff, too, at the suggestion that their children are "rich kids."</p>

<p>Frankly, for all the attention poured upon Florida high school athletes, it seems to me fair that students who qualify for BF should have some sliver of recognition of their talents and efforts. The return on a professional sports career seems to be a much longer shot than the return on more mundane careers that require a college education. A rational state policy would be to encourage the academic excellence that BF requires rather than chasing the chimera of professional sports.</p>

32

<p>"BF's bar is too low and too many rich kids are on a full ride."</p>

<p>Guys read over that and contemplate.</p>

<p>This is exactly what the problem is. There are 2 problems- low standards, and giving money to people who can afford college otherwise.</p>

<p>Either we give the money to the people who deserve AND need it, or the program loses funding and gets cut. Because I know I would pay if I could.</p>

<p>Look at post #1. The probability of the program being cut is very real. There is no guarantee that it will be there for those who need it if things stay the way they are, economic crisis or not.</p>

33

<p>I am currently attending UF with 100% BF. I would probably be placed in that category of "rich" kids who don't need BF, but my family has been put through a good amount of financial strain in the past few years. On paperwork, it looks like we could afford tuition, housing, etc. for me to go to UF, and maybe we even could, but it would be extremely difficult for my family and could have resulted in my having to attend a cheaper school. I also plan to purse a phD, which BF does not cover, so I would not be able to do that if I had to pay full tuition to get my bachelor's. Also, there are really not many merit-based scholarships out there, while there is a plethora of need-based scholarships as well as grants.</p>

<p>I think standards for BF should be drastically raised, because it is far too easy to get BF as it stands. For students who can't afford any fraction of tuition but who miss the standards for BF, there are so many opportunities available for them to get more money.</p>

34

<p>^ Credited a 970 on the SAT is all one needs to get the 75% scholarship. No wonder the cost of the program went from $70 million in 1997 to $436 million in 2008.</p>

35

<p>I think the state should get rid of Bright Futures already. The goal of keeping the brightest in-state has been accomplished. The FL state schools are so cheap. Private colleges & OOS publics are much more expensive, so students here would likely elect to pay the lower price. FinAid would help those who could not afford the costs.</p>

36

<p>^^^</p>

<p>Really? Without BF, I might be in Illinois or Maryland right now, instead of UCF.</p>

37

<p>I am not opposed to a merit based system, but the threshold for 100% is too low. And the threshold for 75% is a joke. They need to raise the requirements in terms of both GPA and SAT/ACT. No one with a 970 SAT should be getting a scholarship, IMO.</p>

38

<p>Most people would stay instate if the tuition is low.</p>

39

<p>Don't worry dvm the state politicians will not get rid of the program. It would be political suicide to do so, but a compromise will be necessary to keep it financially feasible.</p>

40

<p>How much would it cost you to travel to Illinois or Maryland & get all the winter clothes. What is tuition here ~$5K if that? Even with a full tuition scholarship to Illinois or Maryland it would cost you more to attend because of the extra costs.</p>