How to Transfer a Bright Futures Scholarship to Another School

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: June 8, 2019

If you're a recipient of the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship and you would like to transfer to another college or university, don't worry! You don't need to sacrifice your hard-earned college funding in order to do it. As long as you select an eligible school and notify the Florida Department of Education before the applicable deadline, you'll be able to keep your award when you make your move.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Applying to Your Transfer School

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Check to see if your new school is eligible under the scholarship requirements. The college or university you're transferring to must be an accredited public or private institution within the state of Florida. You will not be able to transfer your scholarship to an out-of-state school.^{[1]
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- Visit http://www.FloridaStudentFinancialAidSG.org to view the full list of eligible institutions. Navigate to the "Postsecondary Institutions" page. Make sure you select Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program from the drop-down menu.
- Be sure you're transferring into either a certificate or degree program at an eligible school. Programs that don't award degrees or certificates are not eligible for using the Bright Futures Scholarship.^{[2]
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- If you have any questions about your new school's or program's eligibility, call the Florida Department of Education at 1-888-827-2004.^{[3]
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- The database also lists the phone numbers for each eligible school's financial aid department, in case you still need more information.
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Apply as a transfer student to your new school. You'll need to be accepted into a degree or certificate program at your transfer school before you can transfer your scholarship. Once you're accepted, you'll then be able to arrange to have your award transferred to the new school.^{[4]
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- Your transfer institution may require you to submit high school or college transcripts.
- Make sure any course credits you've earned at your home institution are eligible for transferring to your new institution. Call the enrollment department at your new institution to find out their policies for transferring credits.
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Be sure to meet the appropriate deadlines. You'll need to notify the Florida Department of Education before the deadline that you want your scholarship transferred. This means that you should start the application process early enough so that you still have time to give notification after you're accepted.^{[5]
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- If you're transferring before Term 1, or fall term, make the call before August 15.
- If you're transferring before Term 2, or winter term, make the call before December 15.
- If you're transferring before Term 3, make the call before February 15.
- If you don't meet these deadlines, you'll risk being late on your tuition payment to your new school.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Notifying the Department of Education

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Call the Florida Department of Education at at 1-888-827-2004 to tell them about your plan to transfer schools. In order to make sure your funds will be transferred on time, make sure you meet the deadlines for notification. If you don't notify the Department of Education on time, you'll risk being late on tuition payments at your transfer school.^{[6]
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Notify the Department of Education through https://sso.osfaffelp.org as an alternative to calling. Another option for notifying the Department of Education is to log onto the Florida Student Scholarship & Grant Programs website. You'll need your user ID and password to log in.^{[7]
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- Whether you call or go online, the same deadlines for notifying the Department of Education still apply.
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Check for changes to the amount of your scholarship award. If you're transferring from a public school to a private one, or from a private school to a public one, the amount of your award may change to reflect the cost of tuition at the new school. The same applies to students transferring into or out of vocational or technical schools. Once you've asked the Department of Education to transfer your scholarship, call or visit the financial aid office at your transfer school to confirm that your award properly reflects the cost of attendance at the new school.^{[8]
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- Florida Academic Scholars will be able to use the Bright Futures Scholarship to pay for 100% of tuition and applicable fees at any eligible institution.
- Florida Medallion Scholars will receive $77 per credit hour for a 4-year program at a private institution, and $63 per credit hour for a 2-year program at a private institution.
- Florida Medallion Scholars who enroll in Florida Public Colleges will receive $53 per credit hour.
- Florida Medallion Scholars who choose to attend Career or Technical Centers will receive $39 per credit hour.
- Gold Seal Vocational Scholars and CAPE Scholars will receive $39 per credit hour at Career Certificate Programs or Applied Technology Diploma Programs. The scholarship will also offer $48 per credit hour for Gold Seal students enrolled in Technical Degree Education Programs.