Could you post link for tomorrow’s FSU info session? Thanks!!!
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Sorry it’s not a public session AFAIK. You should have been emailed the information if you are an accepted National Merit Finalist at FSU. If you are I would contact Dana Matthews
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Admitted NMF at FSU. No email. Will try to reach out. Thanks again!
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Sorry to be a pain but this is important to me. Couldn’t find a Dana Mathews. There is a Dr. Dawn Mathews, Associate Director of Advising First. Not sure if this is your contact?
Look at your portal, is there a scholarship letter?
She should be the contact there.
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twoinandone
My mother in-law is 96 years old and a Jacksonville Florida resident since 1967. Her grandson, my son is an OOS Benacquisto scholar. Yes, it did really help her and her family. Her grandson is now a Florida resident and lives with her in Jacksonville when not at UF. 
My son was a student from Mississippi Public Education, the worst ranked in the nation. So he attended public education with the lowest income kids in the nation. He had the same education opportunities they had. (the USA has free Public Libraries)
For his entire K-12 he was an A+ student. He thought the PSAT and SAT were easy so imagine my surprise when he actually missed some questions on the SAT with a 1570 his junior year. His scores were equivalent to the nations brightest. Benacquisto was the only thing that allowed him to continue his education at such a fine school as UF.
His school was full of lower testing students. The World is full of lower testing students. I was a lower testing student. Hell everyone I know was a lower testing student. Only a select few bust butt for 12 years to achieve high scholastic results.
Why would anyone advocate to give more money to us “never really tried for twelve years” types over those who applied themselves with 100% commitment?
The Benacquisto allows the nations top 1% of the 1% intellectuals, to further their education at “great Florida schools”. (that’s above the 99.9 students)
My 15 year old daughter has a 1510 of 1520 PSAT, a 34 ACT, 35 super-score. We expect she will be an NM Scholar in two years. She will attend the school she can afford just like most kids in the USA.
With Benacquisto it will be UF. Without Benacquisto, it will be UA, UTD or UCF because UCF has become high on the radar for scholar’s, since implementing their NM Scholar scholarships. They have grown tremendously by advocating NMF and Burnetts Honors College and the like.
Benacquisto students generally take their leftover $ and save them for the not covered required 9 hours of summer tuition to graduate. Others apply it to their legitimate student needs like summers travelling for other studies. No student is getting rich.
Had we had smarter kids rising up through Florida over the years, we would have had smarter politicians and then this Bill would not be put forward for consideration.
FYI: My parents were life time Floridians. My wife’s parents are life time Floridians. We both are Florida college grads living OOS. Our families own three properties in Florida so we pay our share of taxes.
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Thank you for this. Great example of how important this scholarship is. I highly suggest you send this to all the appropiate Senators if you haven’t already. Benacquisto is my only shot at a full ride, so I’m doing everything I can to protect it.
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Look into UTD’s Computing Scholars program. That’s where my S20 (also NMS) is.
I really hope the bill won’t pass or at the very least nothing will change for the current FL students.
Oh trust me, I have looked into all schools with good NMF packages but FSU is the only school with a full ride and my major (meteorology).
Sorry for the confusion @FuriousGreenTNT . My previous reply was meant for @FSUdad93 and his daughter who wants to major in cs/engineering
Florida is likely way overpaying for OOS NMF’s. Is it really important to complete on price with Alabama? Or to underprice for a kid from Ohio versus tOSU? Attracting a price sensitive population is risky. I doubt that Florida is getting their money from this program.
There is around $650m for the Bright Future program, only instate. In the $26.6m for Benacquisto, only about $6-7m is for OOS students. The whole program is actually to support instate students with <1% allocated to OOS to attract talents.
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Ahh, makes sense. You’re fine haha. Our profile icons are the same so I didn’t even think about it. Certainly, a great suggestions for those exploring that path.
I can see your point here. Just going to point out that I am from OH and a 4.0 UW, 35 ACT, and NMF only got me 3k a year at tOSU. Not awful but pales in comparison to FL. They are attracting other students. I will also point out that this bill could change funding for students already promised COA, which is more of an ethical issue than a policy issue in my opinion.
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mathKids Oh Absolutely, UTD is in the top 3 and should be for most NMF’s. I mentioned it as a possibility earlier. And with out Benacqisto, I have a 14 year old also, who I suspect will go the same route.
"You may be interested in two additional bills up for consideration–one in the House that is already advancing through committees and one in the Senate that has not gone to committee yet. Both grant in-state tuition to out-of-state students who have a grandparent residing in FL. ‘Grandparent Tuition Waiver’ Moves In The Florida Legislature – CBS Miami "
That’s hilarious. As if Florida is having trouble attracting retirees.
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Well, some representatives may be thinking of the grandparents’ votes 
(who will now see their grandkids live near the grandparents in addition to feeling their taxes serve their family, double gratefulness).
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I actually have one there still so I like it. LOL My wife is currently living full time in Florida taking care of her mother as well. She lives in a terrible school zone or I’d have already sent my daughter. We have discussed, me moving to Florida to a very good school zone near by. We would have to do it this summer as NMF is decided by (October)which state you take the PSAT in and not which you graduate in. I’m waiting to see how this SB 86 plays out and how it effects IS and OOs Benacquisto.
Those are all good reasons for YOU to want the scholarship, but does it really help Florida to have OOS students there? I’d been a Colorado resident for many years, owned a house, paid lots of taxes (including income tax, which Florida doesn’t have) but I was not a Colorado resident when it came time for my kids to go to college, so Colorado didn’t care that I had been a resident or a CU grad - no instate tuition for my kids. Their grandparents lived there. Still no instate tuition. I don’t know of any state that gives instate tuition to students whose parents used to live in that state. I grew up in Wisconsin, my parents moved when I was a senior and I applied to UW. I’d been in school there for 9.5 years. So sad, no instate tuition for me.
Florida is more generous than most states. Alabama used to give a lot more scholarships for lower ACT scores, but they changed that program. The states adjust to meet their own needs.
My kids were Florida high school grads and one didn’t get BF and one got the lower level. This was in 2014, when the middle level was $2300/yr and top level was $3000, so not a big difference. Now it is a bigger difference. My kid who didn’t get it wasn’t stupid. We’d moved to Florida when she was almost done with sophomore year and her school didn’t offer Latin (took Freshman year) or French (took sophomore year) NO ONE told her she needed a foreign language for BF, or what the other requirements were. At their school, in the BEST school district (there are about 5 districts that claim to be the best), no one told us. In fact, I don’t think BF was ever mentioned. Best district. One teacher accused my daughter of witchcraft because she was writing in cursive. Best District. My kids went to school is 3 states and 5 districts, and I was unimpressed with Florida schools.
The Benacquisto has only been around for a few years. We don’t know if those from OOS will remain in Florida and contribute to the state. My daughter who got BF went to a private Florida school, used her $2300 (and the resident grant, which was more), other scholarships. She stayed in Florida for 2 years after graduation but has now moved. Daughter who didn’t get BF left immediately.
When BF started to be a benefit to a majority of white, affluent students, I thought the state would reexamine the program, and I think they will continue to do that until they have a formula they like.
In the longer term, if OOS students attend Florida public universities and then stay in Florida after graduation, Florida’s economy and tax receipts may gain. However, if the short term budget is in trouble, such longer term benefits may be ignored.
Some politicians may prefer it to be that way (not unique to Florida – in some states, the in-state public universities are not very affordable to students from middle and lower income families due to poor in-state financial aid, so the in-state tuition discount is more of a subsidy for the upper middle and upper income families who can afford to pay the in-state list price).