To those of you who don't know, Bright Futures is a scholarship offered to Florida residents. It is funded by the Florida lottery, and has helped many students, like me, pay for college since 1997. Recently, new changes are coming to the Bright Futures Scholarship, and for once it's a positive change.

The greatest change coming to the Bright Futures Scholarship in Fall 2017 is to the Academic Scholars Award. This is the highest award one can earn from Bright Futures, and requires a 1290 SAT or a 29 ACT, as well as at least a hundred hours of community service. Previously, Academic Scholars would receive a little over a hundred dollars for each credit hour. However, the Senate has voted to increase this value to 100% tuition covered, not only for fall and spring semester, but for summer semester as well. That's right, if you have earned the Bright Futures Academic Scholars Award all of your tuition will be paid in full. But that's not all folks. This 100% tuition coverage comes with a $300 textbook stipend, which will greatly aide a lot of students.

As of now, these changes do not greatly impact those who have not received the Academic Scholars Award; however, you will now be able to apply Bright Futures to Summer courses. As well, the Bright Futures Merit Scholar Award has now been open to out of state students. These changes to Bright Futures are a part of the Senate's initiative to not only improve education and make it more accessible, but to bring more students to Florida universities from out of state.

In the end, over 40,000 students will have the opportunity to save thousands in their tuition. This is a god sent for many students, as Bright Futures has already relieved a lot stress that comes with paying for college. To the Academic Scholars, I can't imagine how much of a relief it must be. Free tuition is something all college students dream of. You have worked hard to achieve recognition as an Academic Scholar, and all that work is finally being rewarded. Congrats!