Yes, as I read it, the Class of 2021 OOS NMFs would still be able to get COA…with the caveat that a bill next year a la SB 86 could reduce that later on. Class of 2022 OOS NMFs would be out of luck.
There is now a companion bill to HB 1273 in the Senate.
What are the chances of HB 1273 being passed in both the house and senate? I’m class of 2022, and I’m REALLY nervous about losing this opportunity (probable NMSF based on past score cutoffs in my state)
It’s not looking great. Third reading of the bill in the Florida Senate is tomorrow (Tuesday), and anytime after that reading it can go up for a vote. And since 1273 passed the Florida House last week, we may pretty much know the fate of OOS Benacquisto in the next 24 hours…or we may not.
Oh great 
I guess all we can do at this point is hope for the best. This whole situation is so awful
@mdpmdp , what is the Senate bill # which adopts HB 1273 and includes the elimination of OOS Benacquisto? I see SB 1728, but that does not appear to include the Benacquisto language.
Sorry, got the number wrong – 1261. 1261 is what passed the Florida House without any language shutting down OOS Benacquisto. The Senate added some amendments (including one stopping OOS Benacquisto) and passed the bill (unanimously) this morning. Now it’s going back to the House for them to pass the Senate version of the bill.
Link for anyone who wants to follow: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/1261/?Tab=BillHistory
I don’t see it in 1261 either, lol. Not doubting you, just trying to find the language myself. They keep moving the OOS Benacquisto language to different bills.
Ok I see it in an amendment. I just do not see it in the latest version of the bill but perhaps that amendment was not added yet.
Yes, I’m not sure why the Benacquisto OOS language keeps popping up in different bills. It is in three different bills now. In both HB 1273 and HB 1261, it seems as if the language was slipped in as amendments without any particular analysis. This seems like a strange way to legislate. But at least those bills don’t appear to contain any limitations on funding for current scholarship recipients.
SB 86 appears stalled at the moment.
HB 1261 passed the FL House with the Senate’s amendments. Unless the Governor vetoes it, the last new crop of OOS Benacquisto will be 21-22.
Knew it was too good to last long. C’est la vie.
For the 21-22, is it guaranteed for 4 years for OOS?
vistajay My 15 year old 1510-ed the PSAT in October (doesn’t count yet) and her ACT score came in at 35. Whoop whoop! Of course the OOS Benacquisto will be gone. I am hoping the UCF NMS Scholarship returns to pre Benacquisto for 2023 class.
Nothing is changing for now, but the Florida legislature could pass a law in 2022 or 2023 (as they almost did this year) reducing future years to something less generous than 100% of COA. So it’s not a guarantee unless the school has made an explicit promise to their NMFs to cover the difference.
In almost the exact identical situation, which is why I’ve been watching this intently the past few weeks.
What was UCF pre Beancquisto award? Any other Florida schools used to have a great NMF offer?
S22 has a selection index of 224, and we are trying to figure out if we should pay any attention to FL schools.
Looking at this thread, it looks like UCF was full COA (or close) toward the middle of last decade for NMFs. OOS Benacquisto started in 2018-2019 I believe.
Forgive my language, but I’m so ■■■■■■■ pissed right now. There goes my chance at fully affording a school that I’d actually want to go to… student loans here I come.
…Anyone have any recommendations for other schools that offer full national merit rides?
Here are some schools that come close to offering full COA for NMF:
And hopefully some of the Florida schools (like UCF) start to offer significant scholarships to NMFs even without the state support.
Thank you!! I think I’ve read that UCF plans to continue funding for OOS NMFs, but I’m not 100% certain. Are there any schools outside of the Southeast that are strong academically and good for NMFs? I’ve heard that ASU is good, but I just put in my finances and it’s still like 20k/yr 
