Hi OceanIsle, my son is qualified for Bright Futures. At the same time, universities also give their own scholarship. This UCF scholarship is no more merit or need based and that is what I found out from my experience. Scholarships are stackable and so, kids with high stats get more than just one scholarship in Florida and this is quite normal.
Hi vannevka, the reason I am saying itâs scam is - Not all the kids who were approved for scholarship will be joining UCF and the money comes from donors. UCF doesnt give that money back to next who are waiting in line and this money goes back to UCFâs pocket in terms of employee salary, etc.
None of the other universities in florida has this First come First Serve policy. They need to define and announce what is the grade/score they are using for Provost($30k), Pegasus(Gold/Silver/Bronze) scholarship. They dont have any particular dates/score/grades that they use to qualify kids for scholarship. Thatâs not fair. Itâs always merit or need based scholarship throughout the world. Itâs only in UCF, they neither care about grades nor financial situation for giving scholarship. This is totally unethical/immoral/illogical and stupid policy and nobody can question their idiotic policy!!!
I would think that donor money earmarked for scholarships have stipulations that require it to be used only for scholarships. So very surprised if that is not the case.
UCF is not the only school in the country that does not give aid based on absolute numbers. From my very limited exposure to admissions, Pitt is also rolling admissions, with merit money given out also on a rolling basis. I know of some people on that thread that have straight As and perfect test scores that received zero merit aid. Many schools use a holistic approach taking into account ECs and essays. University of Washington is another one that comes to mind.
I would think that they have some kind of formula for giving out scholarship offers that takes into account that some offers will be turned down. That would be fairly standard at most colleges. I doubt UCF redirects funds from those offers that are turned down to other things like salaries.
Yep, the idea that they would redirect scholarship donations to other things strikes me as really unlikely. They are a state university and as such are subject to detailed audits, and also oversight by both the state university system and the Florida Legislature.
@krissam , Iâm sorry your child didnât get a scholarship, but I really doubt theyâre embezzling the moneyâŠsmh.
@krissam Are you trying to say that the kids you know who got scholarships from UCF had very low scores or GPAs and were undeserving?
In my experience some kids are very humble. I knew a few who lied about how high their rank was because they didnât want to be hated by others. Be glad you have public universities in Fl who give a lot of scholarships. In NC even top ranked kids see nothing from our universities and we have no Bright Futures and our tuition is higher as is our room and board.
@jeneric â about this comment you made above:
"I donât have any information- we didnât fill out the FAFSA because we knew we would not qualify. "
Our college counselor at my daughterâs school, and videos on UCFâs financial aid webpage both say that is a MYTH. There is no such thing as ânot qualifying.â
You should do an FAFSA and submit it. If itâs too late for 2020-21, be sure to submit one for 2021-22, which will open up Oct 1, 2020!
Itâs quick, easy, free, and what do you have to lose?
@JimDadinmia - she is already at UCF- accepted Fall of 2018. We donât regret not filling out the FAFSA, but yes I agree most people should!
is it too late to apply for UCF and expect a scholarship?
We are FL residents. DS has 1590 SAT, 780 Chem & 730 Math 1, 11 AP courses (mostly 4&5), 4.0 unweighted GPA and 5.75 weighted GPA
Decent ECs and community service hours. Heâs interested in Engineering.
Please donât ask why we waited this long. Itâs a long story.
UCF has rolling admissions, so itâs not too late. I would submit your FAFSA ASAP for scholarship consideration.
You can call their admissions office to be sure: 407-823-3000. Youâll have to survive a SIX MINUTE phonemail, but after that, they are very helpful.
I checked the UCF website, and it looks like the DEADLINE for Summer 2020 admissions is MARCH 1.
It does seem like a scam to be honest. I called their office on Friday and they told me most of their funding has already been distributed and to contact their scholarship committee. And so, naturally, I did, and they emailed be back saying there are no additional funds available. Which is bs itâs FEBRUARY. UCF is my top choice but I swear, with the amount of runarounds Iâve had with them, I donât even know anymore
@forestmaple It isnât a scam. They have rolling admissions and this is always a possibility with schools like this. The early bird gets the worm.
@forestmaple , have you been admitted? Have you previously submitted your FAFSA? If so, when did you submit?
They have not yet announced their financial aid yet â supposed to be starting on March 1. We applied Oct 1 when it opened and havenât heard yet.
I filled out the FAFSA, at least I received a Federal Unsubsidized Loan. My expected federal financial need was in the negative five figures.
Just remember that if you are a man, you have to sign up for the selective service to qualify for any federal aid.
Signing up for selective service is no big deal. We donât have a draft right now, and it would be an uphill battle to get a draft approved by Congress.
Yes I was admitted on January 8th. And I submitted all of my FAFSA info on October 5th. They said financial aid info will start coming out from March-April. Does anyone know if they usually give a decent amount of financial aid to OOS people?
I doubt if any of us really know here, and Iâm sure it depends on a lot of variables. I know itâs tough, but you just have to try to be patient until they start announcing.
Another factor is that UF starts announcing their acceptances in about a week. UCF is the #2 choice for many UF applicants. Those applicants may have already been offered UCF financial aid, so if they opt for UF, that aid money will become available.
Itâs just a waiting game at this point.
Son was accepted to honors college a while ago. He was awarded Pegasus gold(I think) and today we just got a letter that awarded him the provost also.
Edit to add- we do not qualify for any financial aid.
Great job, Dad!
I learned a lot during my daughterâs competitive figure skating career. When she did well, it was the DNA. When she did poorly, obviously it was the coaching!
Congratulations!