For parents of 9th to 12th grade Florida students. This covers what Bright Futures pays, the SAT score it takes, and how competitive UF, FSU, UCF and every other Florida public university really are.
Start reading belowBright Futures covers tuition at Florida public universities, and your teen's SAT score decides which of the two levels they get.
Academic Scholars covers about 100% of tuition and applicable fees. Medallion Scholars covers about 75%. Everything else on this page exists to get your teen over one of those two lines.
| Requirement | Academic Scholars | Medallion Scholars |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition covered | About 100% | About 75% |
| SAT score | 1330 | 1190 |
| ACT score | 29 | 24 |
| Weighted GPA on the 16 core credits | 3.50 | 3.00 |
| Service or work hours | 100 | 75 volunteer, or 100 if paid |
| Roughly what it is worth over four years | $25,000 to $30,000 | $18,000 to $22,000 |
Dollar figures are approximate and depend on the university and how the award stacks with other aid. Confirm current rules on the state's official Bright Futures site before you plan around them.
Most students clear the GPA and the hours without much drama. The SAT score is the part that stops them, and it is the only one of the three you can move quickly.
Florida raised the qualifying scores for students graduating in the 2027-28 school year and later. Which set your teen has to hit depends entirely on when they graduate.
| Graduating class | Academic Scholars | Medallion Scholars |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 and earlierSeniors this year | 1330 SAT or 29 ACT | 1190 SAT or 24 ACT |
| 2028 and laterJuniors this year and younger | 1350 SAT or 29 ACT | 1200 SAT or 25 ACT |
If your teen is a junior right now, the target is 20 points higher than the number most families have heard. Plan for the higher one.
Start with where they actually are. A few taps below turns the worry into a number of points, and a number of points is something you can work with.
Nothing here is sent anywhere or saved. The score ranges come from each university's published admitted student profile and the award lines come from the state handbook.
Almost nobody is as far behind as they think. Find your teen's grade and do those things, not the things meant for a different year.
Ninth graders do not need SAT prep. They need a baseline and good habits.
Five questions. If you can answer all five, you have a plan. If you cannot, you have a hope.
If you answered no to any of these, your teen is not doomed. You are guessing, which is a fixable problem. Get a baseline score, have the counselor calculate the Bright Futures GPA, circle two test dates, and start logging hours. In that order.
These are the middle 50% SAT ranges of admitted students, straight from each university's own published profile.
Half of admitted students scored inside the range shown, a quarter scored below it, and a quarter scored above. Use it to tell whether your teen is far, close, or competitive. It is not a promise, and every school runs its own process by major.
| School | SAT middle 50% | Typical GPA |
|---|---|---|
| UFUniversity of Florida | 1420 to 1520 | 4.5 to 4.7 |
| FSUFlorida State University | 1380 to 1480 | 4.3 to 4.6 |
| MiamiUniversity of Miami, private | 1350 to 1480 | 3.81 unweighted |
| UCFUniversity of Central Florida | 1310 to 1420 | 4.11 to 4.57 |
| USFUniversity of South Florida | 1290 to 1420 | 4.13 to 4.58 |
| Florida PolyFlorida Polytechnic University | 1258 to 1340 | 3.74 to 4.17 |
| FIUFlorida International, fall direct | 1250 to 1390 | 4.10 to 4.60 |
| FGCUFlorida Gulf Coast University | 1140 average | 4.16 average |
| New CollegeNew College of Florida | 1100 to 1320 | 3.7 to 4.4 |
| UNFUniversity of North Florida | 1090 to 1280 | 3.96 to 4.51 |
| FAUFlorida Atlantic University | 1090 to 1270 | 3.66 to 4.29 |
| FAMUFlorida A&M University | 1080 to 1230 | 3.69 to 4.24 |
| UWFUniversity of West Florida, enrolled | 970 to 1160 | 3.65 average |
Most recent published admitted profile from each university. FGCU and Florida Poly publish averages rather than ranges, and UWF publishes enrolled students only.
The Academic Scholars score of 1330 sits inside the admitted range at UCF, USF and FIU, and above the range at FAU, UNF, FAMU and New College. It lands 50 points under FSU's floor and 90 under UF's.
That is the whole argument for treating this as one project. The same points that earn the scholarship also move your teen up the admissions list, so you are not choosing between the money and the school.
See acceptance rates and the full detail for every Florida college
If you scrolled straight to the table, here is the quick version: put your teen's score in and see which of those schools they are already competitive for.
Same playbook, same timeline, real families. Every one of these was filmed after the score came back.
Across our students the average improvement is 172 points. The six below are individual results, not a promise of what any one student will do, and each video runs about three minutes.
Sources. Bright Futures requirements and the August 31 deadline come from the Florida Department of Education's Bright Futures Student Handbook and the FAS and FMS one pager. College score ranges come from each university's own published admitted student profile. The state can change these rules, so confirm anything you are planning around at floridabrightfutures.gov rather than relying on any summary, ours included.
Updated August 2026 by Carson Flowers, founder of Florida Test Prep. Prefer the printable version? Get the PDF.
Book a free Florida SAT Strategy Session. We go through your teen's current score, the Florida schools they actually want, where they stand on Bright Futures, and what the next six to twelve weeks should look like.
Book your free SAT Strategy Session45 to 60 minutes on Zoom. You keep the plan either way.