[squirlma]

I know this is an old thread, but for any of you that may live in Florida, you should be aware of the Bright Futures scholarship program. There are various levels of this program. Students are rewarded with scholarship money based on several criteria, including completing the required high school courses, maintaining a certain GPA, and completing a certain number of community service hours, and achieving a certain ACT score. A student can qualify for 4 years worth of tuition paid at 100%, 75% or 50%, depending on their achievement level. They also can get up to $300 per term for fees, and $300 per term for other expenses (like books). A son of a friend of mine qualified for at the highest level so he has 100% tuition paid. My son, who will graduate next year, is on track also to qualify for the 100% tuition. Of course, there are other expenses, like housing and food, that you still have to pay for, but this sure helps a lot. Also, the high schools here offer dual-enrollment college courses which the students can take which cost NOTHING. My son has been maxing out those too. I believe that this program is funded by the lottery. I think lotteries are stupid, but at least the proceeds are going toward something worthwhile.