<p>If you get Bright Futures you must now file a FAFSA, even if you are not eligible for federal aid or have not needed to file before. </p>
<p>THE DEADLINE FOR 2011-2012 is JUNE 30. </p>
<p>I think they hope families you do not file FAFSA will either not bother or miss the deadline. This has NOT been well publicized.</p>
<p>DO IT TODAY.</p>
<p>OK so the deadline is technically June 30, 2012, BUT YOU MUST FILE BEFORE ANY FUNDS ARE DISTRIBUTED so actually you might as well consider the deadline as this month.</p>
<p>Yes, just make sure you are filing the 2011/2012 application for BF dollars that are to be distributed for Fall & Spring.</p>
<p>Here is a link that covers the new requirement. The legislative change goes into effect on July 1st.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/fafsa-now-required-for-bright-futures-scholarships[/url]”>http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/fafsa-now-required-for-bright-futures-scholarships</a></p>
<p>This change has gotten remarkably little attention. Friends of mine who have children that are current recipients didn’t believe me when I told them after hearing about it at Orientation.</p>
<p>This change seems a very thinly disguised effort to eventually take BFS away from those who do not qualify for student aid. As if there weren’t enough resources available for those individuals that do. BF has always been a merit-based scholarship intended to keep the brightest students in-state. If any changes are made to it, they should be to raise the qualifying standards to higher levels. There are many now who qualify that are not the brightest.</p>
<p>Is everyone required to submit an updated FAFSA, even if he or she filed one before?</p>
<p>If you already completed a FAFSA for 2011/2012 you should be fine. If you haven’t submitted an error free FAFSA yet: No FAFSA = No Money. If anyone hasn’t done the FAFSA yet, submit it asap or you won’t get Bright Futures or other state money for fall.</p>
<p>Too, if anyone has any business that needs to be done with FSU financial aid office, do it now because they seem to be backed up with work with all the changes in so many things–don’t wait until just before school starts. I’ve been trying to get help at financial aid office for two weeks now and they haven’t even replied–in the past they used to answer in 2 or 3 days tops. FSU should be sending email notices about FAFSA requirement to everyone real soon so no one eligible misses out on Bright Futures money for fall.</p>
<p>[Bright</a> Futures Scholarships](<a href=“Home - Florida Student Scholarship & Grant Programs”>Home - Florida Student Scholarship & Grant Programs)</p>
<p>[Bright</a> Futures scholarship recipients must fill out more paperwork | FLORIDA TODAY | floridatoday.com](<a href=“http://www.floridatoday.com/article/CD/20110610/NEWS01/106100332/Bright-Futures-scholarship-recipients-must-fill-out-more-paperwork?odyssey=nav|head]Bright”>http://www.floridatoday.com/article/CD/20110610/NEWS01/106100332/Bright-Futures-scholarship-recipients-must-fill-out-more-paperwork?odyssey=nav|head)</p>
<p>Yeah, they aren’t going to use the data collected to try and change the program for merit to need based. I call BS! It is a crying shame what our state is doing with regards to education. They cut the award so that it barely covers 50% tuition at UF! So much for a 100% tuition award. My daughter is going out of state and not even using her FAS award, but it still makes me very angry. I feel sorry for parents and kids when they figure out how very little Bright Futures actually pays. Where exactly is all the lottery money going? Obviously not where it was intended to go.</p>
<p>100% Agree with fishymom.</p>
<p>Floridians today believe 0% of what is said in Tallahassee by politicians.</p>
<p>FSU is emailing students who do not have a FAFSA on file. Just be sure that you do 2011-2012. If you are an upperclassman who did one when applying as a freshman, but who was not eligible for aid and did not update, you must update every year now, and have a 2011-2012 “error free” FAFSA on file. If you are chosen for verification YOU DO NOT NEED TO VERIFY, but you need an error-free application on record with FSU.</p>
<p>I keep seeing references to an ‘error-free’ fafsa application. What exactly is that and how will you know if yours is?</p>
<p>You will get a response if there are errors. and info on how to correct them. From the time you hit send, it will be a few days for acknowledgment (other than the on-screen acknowledgement) and up to a few weeks to be notified of errors and to correct them.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>I filled out a FAFSA but I still got a message saying I need to fill out an error-free FAFSA. My problem is I don’t know where to find this error-free form or what it is… Can someone please help with that??</p>
<p>Sign onto FAFSA. If there are errors it will tell you. Maybe you just got a mass message that everyone got. Errors are when you put in a number for, say income, that does not match what was on the income tax statement.</p>
<p>I got an email from the Florida DOE just with a reminder to fill out an error free FAFSA. I don’t think that they were sending it out saying your FAFSA had errors. I checked and mine doesn’t say anything about having errors, so I don’t think it was saying that.</p>
<p>I have a question–does my son have to apply for Bright Futures each year or is it done automatically if he’s in the same school?</p>
<p>There is no “applying” as it is automatic. Now there is just the new requirement to fill out FAFSA every year.</p>
<p>Hi. If we already filled out a FAFSA in January of this year, do we have to fill out yet another one due to the new Bright Future’s changes? My Son will be going to FSU in the Fall. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>You have to have completed the Fafsa for 2011-2012. I filed it recently due to the changes to Bright Futures. I had a choice between 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. Check to see which you filed. If it’s the latter you’re good.</p>