No inside info but I think it makes sense to have him apply to some other schools within your means in case the program budget is limited next year.
Appreciate the reply @vistajay!
If the kid is gets accepted to the combined Med program, will the Benacquisto scholarship cover the first couple of years of Medical school?
@TxSenior - Benacquisto will not. See: https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/PDF/factsheets/FIS.pdf
It says âThis program will provide funds for 100 percent of the number of credit hours required to complete a baccalaureate degree program, or until completion of a baccalaureate degree program, whichever comes first.â
But school might - D20 got into BS to MD program with 5th year (first year of Med School) funding offer on top of undergraduate but sheâs attending elsewhere w/o a BS to MD program.
So look at the specific offer from the school.
Thanks for the details @Waitlistedparent
Miami gave my daughter a National Merit award of 1000$. Now we are just waiting on The Benacquisto amount. We canât wait to see the campus when she moves in (Hopefully) in Aug. We were not able to tour because of the shelter in place. We are OOS so this has not been easy.
Thank you for all the advice everyone. You were all very helpful in making our decision. Miami let us know the presidential scholarship will stack with Benacquisto, for anyone reading this next year
Hi Trolleydolly, My son is also a NMF going to Miami. Can I ask where you saw (i.e. Canelink, awards section, message, email, etc.) that UM already granted your daughter the $1,000. I called the school and they said they are still waiting on a list of recipients. I just want to make sure my son wasnât lost in the shuffleâI am nervous now that you said your daughter was already awarded. Thanks
Also, this is my first post so I hope I am tagging you specifically.
@Trolleydolly
Are any campuses waiving the requirement to live on or near campus for 2020-21?
Good question. However, Iâm not sure any of the campuses have the power to waive the requirement because the scholarship rules are made by the state of Florida. I, myself, have been wondering how this issue will be dealt with by the state given many campuses sound like they are going to be mostly online in the fall.
The requirement to live in Florida near the school is a Benacquisto one and the schools canât waive it. I think it is unlikely to be waived or if it is, that portion of the award (r&b) would likely not be paid as it is to give the student the opportunities available to students living on/near campus.
Would appreciate if any other parents of Benacquisto scholars report here if you hear anything about a potential waiver of requirement to live in Florida if dorms donât open. At this point, my D still has not received her housing assignment from FSU. She was told those would be released today, but no word yet.
eta: I will be trying to contact the Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance â the office referenced in the Benacquisto materials, sometime within the next week and I will post here if I get any info.
I just spoke with a person from the Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance, who in turn spoke with a âspecialistâ about the Benacquisto scholarship on my behalf. I was told that Benacquisto families need to speak directly with their universities about the in state requirement and potential waiver. When I pointed out that this was a statutory requirement and that it did not appear the universities themselves have any power to waive the requirement, even in a potential emergency situation such as a global pandemic where dorms might be closed and all classes are online, the person didnât have anything helpful to say. He just reiterated that the university administers the scholarship and the specialist recommended that we contact the university. So, it doesnât sound like we are going to get any particularly definitive answers, and it doesnât appear the state of Florida/Department of Ed has any particular plans in place to deal with this situation.
Hopefully my D and her roommate will get their housing assignment soon. They are relying on FSUâs representation that the dorms will be open, but itâs not entirely clear that will actually happen. Meanwhile, as more time goes by, they have less and less opportunity to secure off-campus housing if necessary.
I suspect the purpose of the residency requirement on or near campus is the state is giving recipients housing and board allowance, and wants that money spent in state and in the school community. If the waiver is removed, will the scholarship be reduced by housing, at least? Would not want to see that.
I agree about the purpose of the residency requirement. Iâm just concerned about my Dâs ability to secure housing (on or off campus), given the current state of flux. It would make sense for the residency requirement to be temporarily waived for OOS students who are unable to secure housing in time. It would be simple to reduce the award accordingly for those students under such circumstances, but then reinstate the room and board amounts later. I certainly wouldnât want an elimination of room and board amounts across the board, either â only for those who are actually stuck OOS without being able to get housing in Florida.
eta: Iâm also concerned that this requirement is statutory, without any apparent exceptions. Iâm not convinced this requirement can be waived without action from the Florida legislature.
I had sent an email and also called the Florida Department of Education office on Friday. Today, I just got a response to my email. The following is their response:
âThe Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) has received confirmation that our agency has not been granted approval for any emergency order that will waive the statutory requirement to reside on or near campus. With that said, Benacquisto recipients must meet all funding requirements in order to be disbursed an award. There is no appeal to this requirement as it currently stands.â
So, hopefully, the dorms will open. Still no word on room assignments for D and her roommate.
I see that a recently approved Florida bill SB72 was approved and signed by the governor that includes language about Benacquisto. Does anyone know if this bill extended the scholarshipâs funding for a specific period of time or changed any requirements? Our D should be NMF and is considering using this program as an OOS student beginning Fall 2021. I worry about accepting it, then having the State defund it, and being stuck paying OOS tuition or having to transfer.
Thanks for the heads up. I just looked at the bill and it looks like the only big Benaquisto change was removal of National Achievement Scholar eligibility. Where it said âNational Merit and National Achievementâ, National Achievement is stricken.
A number of Florida schools do not send out their decisions until the spring, which happens to be around the time the Florida budget is being/has been considered and approved by the legislature and/or governor. Then, the commitment deadlines are usually well after the annual budget has been made final (this year was an exception because covid prompted the governor to set the budget aside and extend the time for his ultimate approval/vetoes).
One thing to do is have your D check with each school to which she applies to determine their policy(ies) in terms of honoring the scholarship in the event the state decides to defund it. A number of schools have indicated this year they would do so. That could change each application year.
Also, the state budget is set annually, but realistically, if the scholarship is defunded, it would probably mean that only future classes would not be eligible. No guarantees, of course.
Not sure this is the right thread to ask this question.
My daughter is going to UF this fall. She is a National Merit Finalist (qualified for Bright Futures and Benacquisto). She also has Florida Prepaid (prior to 2007). She is on the premed track and wants to go to med school. In this situation, what is the best way to get the most out of these 3 things (FPP, BF, Benacquisto)?
She wonât get Benacquisto and BF (one or the other). Unless you tell them otherwise, they will use Florida Prepaid first, then Benacq, and most of that will be refunded to her. Sheâll end up with a lot of money that may be taxable to her.
Iâd save the FPP and let it keep growning, use the Benacquisto.