Is it as rare as I’ve heard for a freshman (that is not a National Merit Finalist, etc) to be offered a scholarship from UF? Do you know of anyone that was offered any amount of money in recent years?
it’s much more common to see need based aid offered, or a scholarship that considers need. The best merit based scholarships, may be the Lombardi and Stamps programs. They award $2,700 each fall and spring semesters (in additional to Bright futures), four summer enrichment programs (which include two international study trips), leadership training, etc. The other “large” merit awards would include the OOS scholarships (up to $20K a year).
Otherwise, UF offers a mixture of academic scholarships through the admissions office (for Freshman) and through departments. Many of the department based scholarships are offered to sophomores, juniors and seniors (and grad students).
As a comparison, UF offers about $18 million a year in non-need based institutional scholarships ($25M in need-based scholarships), while UCF offers $14m a year. However, much of UCF’s go toward Freshman scholarships, while much of UF’s is scattered about in departmental, international, honors, and so forth.
Another comparison point, UF’s students are awarded about $65M+ a year in Bright Futures scholarships, and $46M+ a year in need-based Federal aid (Pell grants and such). When you consider that 97+% of UF’s students are awarded Bright Futures, that overall number really adds up.
Thank you! Only time will tell but I think our situation is one that resonates with many. We make just enough to not qualify for need based aid and although my daughter’s stats are very strong and her EC’s even stronger… she is not a National Merit Finalist or the like. I guess we need to be on the lookout for departmental scholarship opportunities. As a parent, it’s preferable to know up front before freshman year if your child qualifies for anything rather than taking a chance on UF and waiting to see if there are any funds available in their second year. Ultimately, we’ve got to be able to afford it. Thanks for the explanation.
We’re in the same boat. 
Which reminds me, I need to pester my daughter (sophomore) to start applying for some of those scholarships…
Good luck!!