Scholarships

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SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

OCPS offers students an extent of options for scholarship opportunities and college readiness. 

» Download the OCPS Scholarship Bulletin

» Download PDF Scholarship List - September 20th UPDATE

Florida Financial Aid Application (required for Bright Futures)

» Application opens October 1

The Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) is the free financial aid application from the state of Florida's Office of Student Financial Assistance.

ALL SENIORS MUST COMPLETE the FFAA in order to be eligible for all state grants and scholarships including the Bright Futures Scholarship. 

* Students do not not need to eligible for Bright Futures at the time of application. Students should submit their FFAA when the application opens on October 1 of their senior year and continue working toward eligibility until the deadline of August 31 of their graduation year.

» Apply for the FFAA (required for Bright Futures)
» Download How to Apply instructions

Click to be redirected to the Bright Futures Scholarship information page.

FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid

» 2022-23 FAFSA Application opens October 1

» ALL SENIORS MUST COMPLETE the FAFSA during their senior year in order to be eligible for all federal loans, grants and work study programs. 

» Students planning to start college during a summer term after high school graduation will need to complete the 2021-22 FAFSA.

» Many colleges have FAFSA deadlines in order to be considered for priority financial aid from the school - Students and families are strongly encouraged to submit their FAFSA in October.

» Some colleges will not make financial aid offers unless the student submits a FAFSA. Therefore, every student should submit a FAFSA application even if they think they do not qualify for need based aid.

External Scholarships

Students are strongly encouraged to begin scholarship searching early and often as each scholarship is unique with a wide range of eligibility criteria and deadlines. Many scholarships are specific to a student's future goals, college major, and intended careers such as medical/health sciences, education, engineering, hospitality, and performing arts. 

Suggested Scholarship Search Websites

  • FastWeb: Fastweb is a free scholarship search platform that connects students to scholarships and financial aid tools. Students create a profile and get personalized scholarship recommendations.
  • Scholarships.com: Scholarships.com is a free college scholarship database. Students are instantly matched for scholarships they qualify for.
  • Raise.Me: RaiseMe is a social enterprise focused on expanding access to higher education. Rather than waiting until the end of high school to earn scholarships, RaiseMe enables students to earn scholarships throughout high school, starting as early as 9th grade, for doing all the things that best prepare them to succeed, whether that’s getting good grades, volunteering in the community or joining an extracurricular.
  • ScholarSnapp: Scholar Snapp helps students save time by allowing them to move their own personal information between application forms.
  • College Board BIG FUTURE: Earn entries in monthly drawings for $500 and $40,000 scholarships by completing steps to plan for college. The sooner students start and the more steps you they complete, the more chances they have to win.
  • Cappex: Cappex.com is a one-stop destination that helps students and parents make smarter decisions about admissions and financial aid by providing free and easy-to-use tools for the discovery, application, decision and payment process.