How To Win A Bright Futures Scholarship

The Test Guy
December 13, 2023
7:53 pm

The real rub, for most families, is the ACT score.

That score matters – especially if you live in Florida.

Florida’s Bright Futures Scholarship Program pays high school graduates for their academic achievement. Most of the qualifications your child likely already meets. The real thing that makes them competitive is that it relies on a strong ACT score.

Got 25 on your ACT? Bright Futures will give you $23k. Scored a 29? You can take home up to $27k.

We’ve worked in Pace, Florida, for the past four years. We love the community; we love the families. We’ve had enough kids (90+) to get a feel for what Pace High is good at and what it struggles at. 80%+ of our Pace students qualify for Bright Futures. But kids without the proper prep leave thousands of dollars on the table.

June of senior year is the last time kids can take the ACT to qualify for Bright Futures. We routinely get families of seniors at this time of year–or even later. We’re happy to help. We see those kids, those families, as a unique opportunity to make a difference. Very often we do make that difference.

But this scenario’s not ideal. There’s a lot of pressure on those kids. They have few shots left before June, and often they’ve taken the test several times with no improvement. Sometimes they’ve scored even worse.

If that sounds like your kid, get to work while there’s still hope.

If you’re a parent of a junior or younger, start early. You have a secret weapon. Superscoring.

The composite (overall) ACT score is the average of the four section/subject scores: English (grammar), Math, Reading Comp, and Science (requires no science knowledge; it’s just analytical reading). A superscore is an all-star score–the best of the section scores across different test dates.

For example: Let’s say your child did really well on English and Reading on their first test but poorly on Math and Science. They can work to improve their math and science skills, take the test again, and combine the scores.

June of senior year is the last time kids can take the ACT to qualify for Bright Futures. We routinely get families of seniors at this time of year–or even later. We’re happy to help. We see those kids, those families, as a unique opportunity to make a difference. Very often we do make that difference.

But this scenario’s not ideal. There’s a lot of pressure on those kids. They have few shots left before June, and often they’ve taken the test several times with no improvement. Sometimes they’ve scored even worse.

If that sounds like your kid, get to work while there’s still hope.

Superscoring is magic. Internal data shows that our students take the test fewer times AND get a score increase of 2+ points.

Superscoring works so well because:

It allows for focused prep, boosting a student’s skills, knowledge, and confidence.
It’s easier to perform at 100% for half the test than all of it.
It removes pressure from a single exam–especially one that’s high stakes.
It allows a student to continue “normal life” while still making progress toward the benchmarks.

Whether we have a student who has “one shot left out of the cannon” or a sophomore looking to start early, we seriously consider, and almost always pursue superscoring. Sometimes that means addressing a big weakness, and sometimes it means blowing up a strength.

Our experience in Northwest Florida, most notably at Pace, has shown us that the English section is usually where we can get points most quickly and reliably, even for kids who aren’t readers (though we encourage them to find something that interests them and start). We’ve had students go up 9 points on English in three weeks.

If your child is a senior, they may need to focus on 3 sections at a time. Still, whittling it down from the entire test is almost always the right move.

If your student is younger, start them early.

This is a game about points. Let’s make sure you don’t leave any on the field.

We’re offering holistic, no-nonsense consultations on college admissions strategy and SAT/ACT test prep. Sign up for a free, 30-minute conversation with me on the right path for your family.

How To Win A Bright Futures Scholarship

The real rub, for most families, is the ACT score.

That score matters – especially if you live in Florida.

Florida’s Bright Futures Scholarship Program pays high school graduates for their academic achievement. Most of the qualifications your child likely already meets. The real thing that makes them competitive is that it relies on a strong ACT score.

Got 25 on your ACT? Bright Futures will give you $23k. Scored a 29? You can take home up to $27k.

But this scenario’s not ideal. There’s a lot of pressure on those kids. They have few shots left before June, and often they’ve taken the test several times with no improvement. Sometimes they’ve scored even worse.

If that sounds like your kid, get to work while there’s still hope.

If you’re a parent of a junior or younger, start early. You have a secret weapon. Superscoring.

The composite (overall) ACT score is the average of the four section/subject scores: English (grammar), Math, Reading Comp, and Science (requires no science knowledge; it’s just analytical reading). A superscore is an all-star score–the best of the section scores across different test dates.

For example: Let’s say your child did really well on English and Reading on their first test but poorly on Math and Science. They can work to improve their math and science skills, take the test again, and combine the scores.

But this scenario’s not ideal. There’s a lot of pressure on those kids. They have few shots left before June, and often they’ve taken the test several times with no improvement. Sometimes they’ve scored even worse.

If that sounds like your kid, get to work while there’s still hope.

Superscoring is magic. Internal data shows that our students take the test fewer times AND get a score increase of 2+ points.

Superscoring works so well because:

It allows for focused prep, boosting a student’s skills, knowledge, and confidence.

It’s easier to perform at 100% for half the test than all of it.

It removes pressure from a single exam–especially one that’s high stakes.

It allows a student to continue “normal life” while still making progress toward the benchmarks.

Whether we have a student who has “one shot left out of the cannon” or a sophomore looking to start early, we seriously consider, and almost always pursue superscoring. Sometimes that means addressing a big weakness, and sometimes it means blowing up a strength.

If your child is a senior, they may need to focus on 3 sections at a time. Still, whittling it down from the entire test is almost always the right move.

If your student is younger, start them early.

This is a game about points. Let’s make sure you don’t leave any on the field.

We’re offering holistic, no-nonsense consultations on college admissions strategy and SAT/ACT test prep. Sign up for a free, 30-minute conversation with me on the right path for your family.

Quizz PopUp

Menu