That all looks correct as of now. Just to add:
- FSU offers a OOS tuition waiver (reduces it from ~$19k to ~$6k), plus about $3k/year in additional scholarships.
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FSU also still has its Presidential Scholarship, which is a separate application and is competitive. They have about 25 Presidential Scholars in each class. About 60 are invited to the interview weekend. They receive an additional $2400 a year and $12000 for summer study over 4 years, plus other perks. It is not NMF specific but I mention it here because NMFs attending FSU would have a good chance at it.
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If they can return to the prior Scholarship (pre Benacquisto), my d2023 would be list them as the #1 choice.
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UCF, their page has a newsletter not out yet for future NMF…
has anyone heard about the UCF package yet?
The UCF National Merit page has changed! It used to say this year’s newsletter would be out in early October. Now…it says it’s coming out sometime.
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And today, the page shows a different contact than Luke. Newsletter still not here.
Small change to that UCF National Merit page which probably isn’t a good harbinger (emphasis mine):
Last week: “If you advance to finalist status, and you designate UCF as you first choice by the deadline, you will receive an increased scholarship amount.”
Now: “If you advance to finalist status, and you designate UCF as you first choice by the deadline, you can be considered for an increased scholarship amount.”
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My daughter had emailed Luke a couple of days after submitting her application to inquire about how to apply to the Honors college. I didn’t see the email, but DD mentioned that he referred her question onto another person.
I came here to ask one question, but now I have another.
First, does anyone know what happened to Luke? I am disappointed to see that he is longer the NMF contact at UCF.
Second, does anyone know how the Benacquisto is handled for a student who graduates from an OOS high school but the parents move to and establish residency in FL before the student begins college?
Not eligible. The awards are made to graduates of Florida high schools with a few exceptions (like military FL residents). You may be eligible for instate tuition after the first 12 months.
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Thank you.
ETA - Did I imagine that FL residency of grandparents may have bearing on the in-state vs. OOS classification? I know that there was mention of that in one of the bills that was up for consideration in the spring, but I do not know what happened.
Just because you are classified as in-state for tuition doesn’t mean you are eligible for BF/Benacquisto. Some students get instate tuition because one of their parents lives in Florida, but if they do not graduate from a Fl high school, they aren’t eligible for BF (same agency runs BF/Benacquisto). The grandparents living in state is just one more way to get instate tuition. Others are military, in the olden days having a Florida Prepaid Tuition account was an automatic qualification even if you’d never lived in Florida (and many bought the plan just for that reason), moving to Florida and establishing residency after graduating from hs. At Florida State they grant in-state tuition to certain scholarship recipients, but those students do not get BF.
Getting instate tuition and the Florida state scholarships are different programs. There is NOTHING the colleges can do to reinstate the state scholarships if they are lost, but the schools can grant instate tuition as they want. I believe the state will pay the difference between instate and OOS to the colleges for the grandparent program.
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Thank you. She definitely will not be graduating from a FL high school. In fact, we are delaying our move so she can finish up at her current high school. I appreciate the clarification.
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I think he was promoted to a higher position within UCF admissions
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@Dis3456 You should definitely follow the new list of qualifications (they have to make new rules after this year) for Benacquisto and make sure I’m right. You never know, they COULD allow OOS students with instate tuition to get Benacquisto but I just think it is highly unlikely because of how BF/Benac. have been run in the past. For BF, if you didn’t qualify by the deadline, you couldn’t later qualify and then get the award, like by taking the SAT and getting a qualifying score after you graduated hs. If you lost it, it was gone. If you didn’t get enough community service hours in, you were SOL. I’m not sure if the legislation just past said Benacquisto would be granted to instate residents or to FL hs grads. It could make a difference how the legislation was drafted even if the legislature intended it to only be for Fl hs grads.
However, all is not lost. A few schools are awarding their own merit awards for NMF. Check USF, FSU, and I think it was FIU for good awards. UCF seems to be working out the kinks as to what it will award. It is very unlikely UF will give more than the $500 or $2500 award to NMF (UF doesn’t give a lot of merit scholarships). UCF was pretty generous before Benacquisto existed (I think 2016 was the first year for it) and it looks like they will still give something, just not COA+, which Benac. gave.
Full tuition would still be a pretty good deal but uncertainty at this stage of the application cycle will necessarily have an effect upon OOS applicants.
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I emailed scholarsprogram@ucf.edu on Monday morning and haven’t heard anything back. I’ll cross UCF off the list at this point.
This is what my gut told me was happening. I don’t think that we are actively considering UCF anymore.
Also, it is getting very late in the admissions cycle to not have any idea what the scholarship or perks will look like. By this time next month, my daughter will have heard back from all of her schools. She has already received two full COA offers, and we know that HOPE will cover tuition at UGA and GT.
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UCF has now published its updated newsletter with its new out-of-state offer:
Non-Florida Residents
The following awards will be stacked and include:
• UCF Merit Scholarship valued at $80,000 plus a waiver of non-Florida fees for tuition.*
• National Merit Scholarship Corporation AwardAll finalists who are first choice designees also receive:
• Expedited admission decision to UCF
• Guaranteed admission to the LEAD Scholars Academy
(upon application)
• Guaranteed admission to the Burnett Honors College (upon
application) with benefits that include:
• Priority registration
• Special orientation program
• Access to faculty mentoring
• Exclusive research and internship opportunities
• Access to honors housing in the Towers at
Knights Plaza
• Guaranteed on-campus housing for four years with
available housing preference (upon application)
• Laptop computer*Limited to 40 students
The tuition waiver means the COA is basically what it would be for an in-state student: $23,622. Scholarship recipients who use their scholarship wisely — such as opting for room or board that costs less than the COA or buying used books — have a good chance of having no out-of-pocket expenses.
At least this is my understanding of the update.
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