<p>Wow, brutal crowd. I can understand your frustration that with all your hard work, you find yourself further in the hole with an outside scholarship. A tough situation, even if it is how things work. And fyi, people, Bright Futures is merit based money intended to keep Florida’s bright students in-state. She will lose it if she doesn’t take it by second year out of high school. There is also no guarantee of getting the school’s scholarships later. We’ve explored all those things. And no use picking her poor parents’ a private situation apart is there? All I can suggest to look in to is this: we visited Western Carolina - a nice school in a beautiful setting with an extremely low cost - and maybe would offer a good student a great scholarship. Second, consider a job as a server in a restaurant. My daughter made good money at a good chain restaurant last year - although I know the summer is half gone. She also was able to cut expenses after her first year by getting an inexpensive apartment with three other students. </p>
<p>Best of luck to you. Your hard work will be rewarded in the end.</p>