For those who have received the Florida Incentive Scholarship via the College-Sponsored National Merit Scholarship, do you happen to know if we need to submit the FAFSA to renew the award next year? I don’t think I’ve seen anything saying that we need to do so, but I suppose it can’t hurt to do it regardless of whether or not it is necessary. I know that Bright Futures does not require us to submit the FAFSA anymore, but does UF require it for the UF-sponsored NM Scholarship?
Thanks!
@Mobie101 How did you get notified that you received the FIS via the College-Sponsored NMS? I thought that finalist notifications were not released until Feb.?
@blue44, Sorry for the confusion. My chid is a freshman at UF this year, so he was notified last January or February (I can’t remember exactly when) of his finalist status.
@Mobie101 Thank you for the reply. Do you remember how the FIS process worked with UF? There is not much information out there. When did your son name UF as his top choice for NMSC? When did UF give out the school NM awards? Any info would be appreciated. Thank you!
@blue44 There are several informative posts going back to last year on this forum about FIS. Contact saismom, she is very knowledgeable on this mysterious scholarship. My son was NMF and is now at FSU.
@blue44 or any one with FIS questions- happy to help! Regarding the FAFSA- you do not need to file a FAFSA to receive Bright Futures or the FIS. However- If you do want to be considered for NEED BASED scholarships and/ or aid, you should fill one out. You and your student must obtain an FSA I to file the FAFSA. This is new since May 2015.
Thanks @saismom, for the info about the FAFSA! @blue44, last year was quite the ride with the FIS scholarship. Many of us were not even aware that UF was participating in the NM program until March! My son named UF his top choice I think in early March–up until then he was undecided. I can’t remember when he got the notice about receiving the NM award from UF, but I think it was late April?? After that, the FIS showed up in his UF portal several weeks later. @subtropicus is correct, there were a bunch of posts about this last year. If you can dig them up, it probably would give a better idea of the timeline. You will find several posts from me in a panic trying to figure out this scholarship! @saismom is a great resource, so don’t hesitate to post any questions. We’ll all try to give you as much info as we have.
Typo there! I meant to type a FSA ID for the FAFSA. Anyhow I just noticed my kiddo’s FIS disbursed on the Florida Student Financial Aid site and called UF since it had not disbursed there yet. They said the FIS is done in batches and they should all be disbursed for Spring 2016 in this next week.
@saismom Thank you so much for the information. I guess we will wait until February when they name finalists and then make some decisions. It is frustrating because it almost feels like placing a bet as there is no definitive answer as to how many (a few or all) National Merit finalists that name UF as first choice will get an award, and consequently qualify for FIS. Taking the bet and putting UF as first choice could jeopardize large merit awards from other out of state schools that don’t award merit until March and April. Having to put a first choice down before having all of the information to make the decision puts us in a precarious position.
You do NOT have to name UF as first choice until later.My daughter did not pick UF until April 30Th!!
To make it clearer, UF will name ALL accepted and enrolled ( meaning your child chose UF and you paid the deposit) finalists as NM UF scholars. My kid did not have to do this as she was a corporate scholar but they sent her the forms anyhow. It isn’t until you accept the UF $500.00 that you are truly in the program. The only students who do not get the $500 UF NM scholarship are the ones who:1) did not make finalist,2) have a NM award from corporate sources, 3)or a one time NM $2500 winner. To be more concise: You are not placing a bet with UF since they will award your finalist student as long as they finally do name UF as first choice. Other schools with the big awards like Oklahoma may have different policies but remember the FIS is paid through the state of Florida- not by UF directly- so they do not have “limited” spots for NM scholars… You can CHANGE your first choice on the NM portal; It is not set in stone. I know kids that named Auburn as first choice because they were not sure about the FIS and UF and then later changed it to UF. It isn’t a big deal.
@saismom Thank you so much for the clarification! This is so much less stressful. So, if in the end, he choses UF and changes his choice to UF, they will name him a NM UF scholar and send him the forms. Whew! Thanks again. I hope nothing goes wrong and he makes finalist!!
Yes, that is how it proceeded this past year. My daughter never even “named” a school but neither did a few of her friends until quite late in the process and they all still received the same form from UF. Basically, the NM released some sort of list and eventually UF did get all the names of the UF kids who were finalists even if they did not put down UF as first choice initially. UF sent that “acceptance form” to all the kids even the corporate scholars who could not take advantage of the $500.00 award. Max Mauney was very helpful last year in clarifying all of this. The original woman who sent us the acceptance forms had left UF by the summer so when we went to UF for Preview in July, we actually met Max Mauney and he was very helpful. I can ask if they are going to handle it differently this year but UF has never been one of the schools to give out big awards and I assume they came back into the NM “fold” so they could at least entice those NM finalist kids who might have attended elsewhere. After all, not many receive corporate scholarships or the one time $2500.00 award and the FIS verbiage does specify the student has to be named a scholar. They may re-write/edit that line and others in this legislative session. I will keep checking. At least we know Rick Scott did recommend to keep it on the books rather than defund like he did in 2014-2015! I think it is safe to say if they scored a 215 or greater in the PSAT ,1960 or greater in the SAT and checked all the boxes in the NM application and received no “C” s or had any disciplinary action, they should be good to go! Good luck to your student!
@saismom Thank you again for your help. Once we know about finalist status, I will contact Max Mauney and I will update this forum if there is any new information about the FIS at UF for 2016-17, or if it will be handled the same way as last year. I hope your D is loving UF!
She is doing well. We are not die hard Gators but the FIS made it a no brainer!
@saismom, or anyone else who might know: Will my child need to file a tax return for 2015 because of the scholarship? I’ve done some research and it looks like the room and board portion is taxable. My only confusion is whether or not he has to file–he has no other income. I’ll keep researching for the answer, but I figured I would ask here since others might know. Thanks in advance!
@blue44, it would be great if you could post an update once you talk to Max Mauney. I’m curious as to the answer. I think things will go a little smoother for the NM/FIS at UF this year, since they probably worked out all the kinks last year.
I am anxious to find out if FIS will be a definite at UF this year… I guess once we know my daughter’s NM status in Feb we will hear details? Would it appear on any of the Florida college portals? I haven’t noticed it.
@Mobie101 We are in the exact same boat of confusion…Our student had no other income in 2015 except scholarships. We did keep all receipts for books and the mandatory laptop.Anything that is required for study at the program is not taxable as best I understand.
I am currently expecting a notification that I am NMF. However, I don’t believe I will make the cut for the NMSC sponsored award, and I’m not expecting any corporate sponsorships. I was wondering if anybody knows the probability that I’m accepted into UF, of FSU (already accepted) and don’t get the sponsorship from the school. If I’m not confident that the school is going to sponsor me, then I’ll probably go to Auburn. Should I risk it or play it safe?
@Mobie101 Any news about the tax filing? Mine has no other income at all for 2015 AND we have FL pre paid…Are you on the Facebook group for parents of class of 2019? There are some great people who are very helpful on that board.