<p><em>sigh</em> I disagree with all of the proposed changes.</p>
<p>Here’s what the state senate approved yesterday for Bright Futures, freshmen starting next fall could lose BF forever with bad grades for semester with no restoration:</p>
<p>[Session</a> :Bills : : flsenate.gov](<a href=“http://www.flsenate.gov/cgi-bin/view_page.pl?Tab=session&Submenu=1&FT=D&File=sb1344e1.html&Directory=session/2010/Senate/bills/billtext/html/]Session”>http://www.flsenate.gov/cgi-bin/view_page.pl?Tab=session&Submenu=1&FT=D&File=sb1344e1.html&Directory=session/2010/Senate/bills/billtext/html/)</p>
<p>I believe it is still based on a year and not a semester after reading the bill. They will only be looking at the grades/number of hours taken once a year not once a semester.</p>
<p>^^You’re probably right, I didn’t read the thing that closely, but I think what I was trying to get across was that some provisions in the bill would start up right away and not down the road a couple of years out. This isn’t law yet and anything could happen yet, but it appears likely changes are going to happen with Bright Futures. Schools, colleges, students, teachers, taxpayers are all going to get hammered this year.</p>
<p>How do these changes affect currently enrolled students? My budget didn’t like it when they reduced, then eliminated the book budget for FAS!!! Since my DS is double majoring, my budget would be severely affected without the 110% rule…</p>
<p>Also, I agree with the poster that there are many programs for low-income students- in fact, many of my students at a community college continue to go to school and game the graduation system because they get their living expenses covered as well as their tuition. In today’s economy there aren’t many jobs for them when they graduate, so school is what funds living! I don’t see many programs like that for those that work for a living… </p>
<p>I do acknowledge that the hardest part of getting funds to go to college is navigating the system and without strong support or a strong will, many low-income students have difficulty with that aspect.</p>
<p>“— Make scholarships more difficult to win by raising the Academic Scholars SAT score from 1,270 to 1,290 in two steps by 2014. The qualifying Medallion Scholars SAT score would rise in three steps from 970 to 1,050 by 2014.”</p>
<p>This is the only one I agree with. The standards are ridiculously low, especially for the 75%.</p>
<p>“— No longer allow restoration of scholarships to students who lose their grants because of low grades.”</p>
<p>I’ve noticed that especially in Freshman year, professors like to make their courses ridiculously difficult in order to weed out people. How much would it suck to lose your scholarship after freshman year once the Professors decide to back off on their anal freshman grading system?</p>
<p>“— Reduce the number of covered credits from 110 percent of program requirements to 100 percent.”</p>
<p>This is not a “basketweaving” fund. It’s a fund for those who come into college with the brains and skill, but just haven’t decided exactly what they want to do with their lives and want to test the waters. Many students change their majors. And those who manage to keep the scholarship until they’re ready to graduate aren’t very likely to waste their time with basketweaving courses for the sake of it.</p>
<p>“— Limit each scholarship to a period of four years. The grants now can be spread over seven years of school attendance.”</p>
<p>There should be no time period. There already is a 120 (or is it 130?) credit limit. Also there are undergrad degrees that take 5+ years to attain.</p>