With his new financial aid package, Matthew Martins no longer has to work a full-time job.
Martins, a 20-year-old UF mechanical engineering junior, was one of more than 28,000 UF students to receive the new Florida Bright Futures award. As of Thursday afternoon, UF disbursed $190,093,571 in total aid for the Fall 2017 term, wrote UF spokesperson Steve Orlando in an email. About $55 million of that number was for Bright Futures, Orlando said.
For the 2017-2018 school year, Bright Futures will pay 100 percent tuition for Florida Academic Scholars, about $6,980 for the full year, according to Alligator archives. Students will also receive a $300 textbook stipend.
Orlando said aid began disbursing Aug. 19, and the most recent disbursement was made Aug. 30.
Maria Vernava, a 19-year-old UF nutritional science sophomore, said the announcement system for financial aid can be confusing, but she’s just happy to get additional money for her classes.
“I’m super excited that we’re going to be able to get money for Summer courses,” Vernava said. “However, I think what they need to work on is explaining when Bright Futures will be disbursed, especially for freshman.”
Ty Ingram, a 19-year-old UF business sophomore, got his aid Wednesday at 8 p.m., and had been worrying all day before then. As the days got closer toward the deadline for tuition payment, Ingram worried about whether his aid would come through in time.
“It is frightening that the disbursement came nearly two days before the payment deadline,” he said.
Though Ingram didn’t get the expanded Bright Futures because he only got the second highest award, he said UF’s fees are reasonable.
“It’s only logical to help those who are most likely to achieve,” he said. “Although I won’t get free tuition, UF has an amazingly low tuition rate when compared to other public schools, so the university is doing its best to help everyone.”
