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Types of Aid

Scholarships

Scholarships are awards based on academic achievement, but financial need may also be considered.

Scholarships do not have to be repaid, and do not require recipients to perform services to receive them. They are considered gift aid. Scholarships are awarded by various sources such as the university, the state, and individual colleges and departments, and private companies and individuals.

For additional information on academic scholarships administered by other UF offices, go to Other UF Academic Scholarships.

For information on scholarships available through individual university departments and colleges, check with your department or college for information. SFA maintains a comprehensive listing of UF college-awarded aid, as well as scholarship from non-UF organizations on our Scholarship Search Engine.

For information on State of Florida scholarships, go to State of Florida Aid.

If you are a donor or individual responsible for sending a scholarship check from a non-UF organization or agency to the university for a scholarship recipient, please review the Donor Scholarship Guidelines for instructions and mailing address.

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Florida Bright Futures Scholarship

The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, funded by the State of Florida Department of Education, provides scholarships based on high school academic achievement. More information on Bright Futures Scholarships

UF Merit Scholarships

The merit scholarship review process is holistic and there is no automatic awarding of UF scholarships based on test scores or GPA. There is not a separate application for UF merit scholarships, as all admitted students who apply by the November 1 freshman admission priority deadline are considered. The recipients are selected by a committee each spring and will be notified via email by mid-March.

In-State Students

UF currently offers a limited number of merit-based scholarships designed for high-achieving, in-state students:

  • Florida Merit Scholarship $1,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total $4,000 over 4 years)
  • Florida Merit Scholarship $2,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total $8,000 over 4 years)
  • Presidential Scholarship: $5,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total $20,000 over 4 years)
  • Presidential Gold Scholarship: $8,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total $32,000 over 4 years)
  • Presidential Platinum Scholarship: $10,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total $40,000 over 4 years)

SFA Awarded Scholarships

SFA awards and/or administers scholarships, non-endowed and endowed. Students are automatically considered if they:

  1. Apply for financial aid via the FAFSA.
  2. Have financial need as indicated by the FAFSA
  3. Have a 3.0 GPA
  4. Meet the donor-specified criteria

Machen Florida Opportunity Scholarships

Machen Florida Opportunity Scholarships (MFOS) are designed to ensure that those who meet eligibility requirements will not have to work or borrow to attend UF, but rather will have their need fully met with grants and scholarships. Awards are offered to Florida resident first-time-in-college freshmen students and undergraduate renewal students from historically economically disadvantaged backgrounds whose parents have not earned a bachelor’s degree. This program, an initiative of the University of Florida, was supported by the Florida legislature in early June 2006 when it created the First Generation Matching Grant Program.

To be eligible, students must meet the following criteria:

  1. Be a Florida resident
  2. Graduate from a Florida high school
  3. Be admitted as a first-time-in-college freshman to an undergraduate program
  4. UF must receive your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) prior to Fall term enrollment*
  5. Have financial need as determined from information provided on the FAFSA
  6. Neither parent may have earned a bachelor’s degree
  7. Beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year, for a student to be eligible, parents’, stepparents’, or legal guardians’ combined total income be below $55,000; parents’, stepparents’, or legal guardians’ assets must be below $35,000.**
  8. Be enrolled for at least twelve credit hours/semester
  9. Not have defaulted on or owe a refund to any previous aid program

*Although you must be accepted for enrollment at UF before you are considered for financial aid, you should apply for aid before being admitted. Complete the FAFSA at studentaid.gov. You can file a 2024-25 FAFSA as early as December 2023. You can file a 2025-26 FAFSA on or after December 1, 2024. In order for us to consider you for a financial aid package, you must be a degree seeking student, admitted student.

** These are basic income requirements. Student Financial Aid and Scholarships may choose to complete a more in depth look at family financial circumstances, including home value, business income and losses, other assets, non-custodial parent’s financial situation, etc. to make a final eligibility determination.

Students who are selected for this scholarship must agree to participate in support programs to assist them in a successful transition to UF.

Machen Florida Opportunity Scholarship Renewal Requirements:

  • Earned 24 academic credits in previous year
  • Maintain 2.0 GPA
  • Maintain satisfactory academic progress​
  • FAFSA received
  • Family Income not to exceed:
    • 2nd Year: $60,500
    • 3rd Year: $66,000
    • 4th Year: $71,500
  • ​Attend two Financial Literacy Workshops (1st year students only)
  • Participate in Peer Mentor Activities (1st year students only)
  • Satisfactory Completion of SLS 1102 (1st year students only)
  • Attend two Career Workshops (2nd year students only)
  • Complete one Life Planning Workshop (3rd year students only)

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Non-Endowed Scholarships

  • Jessie Ball duPont/Alfred I. duPont Scholarship
    Established by Mrs. Jessie Ball duPont in memory of her husband. A
    guideline excerpt states: “These scholarships are to be given,
    not loaned, but the recipients are requested, after their graduation,
    when they have earning capacity, to pass a like amount, as they have
    received, on to some deserving boy or girl who needs assistance in
    acquiring an education. In this way, it will be a permanent chain
    for the benefit of our youth.”
  • Follett Bookstore Scholarship
    The Follett Bookstore provides scholarships in the form of credit
    at their main campus bookstores. The credit equals the standard cost
    for undergraduate books and supplies (computer hardware not included).
  • Gene Wright Scholarship Fund
    Support Martin County high school students entering as freshman who meet
    both the Gene Wright Scholarship eligibility requirements during their
    senior year in high school and the University of Florida admissions criteria.
  • Kenneth D. Watson Memorial Scholarship
    Support need-based scholarships with preference to graduates of Gainesville
    High School. If no eligible recipient from Gainesville High, may be awarded
    to eligible graduates of a high school in Alachua County.
  • Robert D. and Flora E. Fuhrman Scholarship
    This memorial scholarship was established in 1982 from the estate
    of Robert D. and Flora E. Fuhrman to help needy students.
  • Metta Heathcote Scholarship
    Established by a trust fund created by Mrs. Metta Heathcote, long-time resident
    of St. Petersburg, this scholarship is available to Pinellas
    County residents who have graduated from a Pinellas County high school.
    Awards are based on financial need with preference given to St. Petersburg residents.
  • Ryan McKee Scholarship
    Established in 2010, this is a need-based scholarship with preference
    to veterans, criminology majors, students in Reserve Officer Training
    Corps (ROTC), or graduates of Piper High School. Students must have
    a minimum GPA of 3.0.
  • Ryan McKee SFA Scholarship
    This need-based scholarship is for students employed in the verification
    section of the UF Office for Student Financial Aid and Scholarships.
  • UF General Scholarship
    This scholarship was established from donations to the University’s general scholarship fund.

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Endowed Scholarships & Fellowships

For descriptions of the following SFA-Awarded, endowed scholarships and fellowships, see the UF Foundation Web site.

  • 1990 Student Memorial Scholarship Fund
  • Benito Agrelo/Christina Holt Memorial Scholarship Fund
  • Erma R. Ayres Scholarship Fund
  • Bank of America Scholarship Fund
  • Frederick W. and Grace P. Brecht Scholarship Fund*
  • Mary Ellen Burnett Endowed Scholarship
  • Wen-Hsiang Chai Scholarship
  • James Wilmer Crews, III, Tuition Scholarship Fund
  • Joseph and Lillian A. Damon Scholarship
  • Joseph and Lillian A. Damon Scholarship II
  • Sara Lavinia de Keni Scholarship
  • Conrad G. Demro, Jr., & Patricia Demro Scholarship
  • Alfred I. duPont Scholarship Fund
  • Philip I. Eschbach Scholarship Fund
  • Gainesville Charitable Foundation, Inc., Masonic Scholarship
  • Victor Garnett Campbell Eubank Scholarship
  • Margaret C. Fairlie Scholarship Fund
  • Floyd Gehan Scholarship
  • Paul G. and Harriette C. Franklin Merit Scholarship
  • George R. Greene Scholarship Fund
  • Nadia Venable Hall Scholarship
  • Earl W. Halsey Scholarship Fund
  • Coite and Mildred Hill Scholarship Fund
  • Hobe and Gertrude Hooser Scholarship
  • Hundred Club of Broward County Inc. Scholarship Fund*
  • Fin Jorgensen Memorial Scholarship Fund
  • Latin Builders Association Scholarship for Ethical Development
  • John V. Lombardi Scholarship
  • Manatee County Scholarship Fund
  • William C. Mason III Memorial Scholarship Fund
  • Wilton E. Miller Family Excellence Scholarship
  • Lillian P. Mosbacher Scholarship Fund
  • Ruth Selby Noble Memorial Scholarship/Fellowship Fund
  • David E. and Margaret O’Connor Scholarship
  • Winifred Todd Parker Scholarship Fund
  • Ruth L. Pugsley Memorial Fund Scholarship
  • Reichert House Scholarship Fund
  • Stamps Scholarship – A community for exceptional student leaders.
  • Steve Rhoden Memorial Scholarship
  • John G. Ruge Scholarship
  • Jose M. Sanchez Scholarship
  • Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club Jimmy Traucht Scholarship
  • Dolly and Robert L. Secrist, Sr., Scholarship Fund
  • Jim Steiner Endowed Scholarships Fund
  • Mr. and Mrs. Warren Trottman Scholarship Fund
  • Effie Jackson Vining Scholarship Fund
  • Honorable Clyde B. Wells Memorial Scholarship
  • Edwin Willinger Trust Scholarship Fund
  • Yazdi Scholarship/Fellowship

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Benacquisto Scholarship

The Benacquisto Scholarship Program is a merit scholarship for in-state high school graduates who receive recognition as a National Merit® Scholar. Eligible scholars will receive an award equal to the standard institutional cost of attendance for an in-state student minus the sum of Bright Futures and the National Merit® award.

A student who is a Florida resident seeking initial eligibility must:

  • Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen
  • Earn a standard Florida high school diploma or its equivalency
  • Be a National Merit® Scholar
  • Enroll full-time in a baccalaureate degree program at a qualifying Florida postsecondary institution
  • Initially enroll at the eligible postsecondary institution the fall academic term following high school graduation

A National Merit® Finalist becomes a Scholar by receiving on of the following:

  • National Merit® $2500 Scholarship,
  • Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship®
  • College-sponsored Merit Scholarship®

NOTE: “Special” Corporate Scholarships and “Presidential” awards do not qualify a student for the Benacquisto Scholarship. The Benacquisto award is not available to fund summer coursework.

Additional information on the Benacquisto Scholarship can be found on the State of Florida’s Office for Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) website http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org or by contacting the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships at (352) 392-2244.

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Latin American-Carribbean (LAC) Scholarship

Under Florida statute 1009.21, full-time students who are a citizen of a Latin American or Caribbean country (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and who receive scholarships from the federal or state government shall be classified as residents for tuition purposes. This provision of the law provides an opportunity to encourage the continued internationalization of UF and to attract more high-quality students from Latin America and the Caribbean. More information on the Latin American-Carribbean (LAC) Scholarship.

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Gator Spirit Scholarship

The Gator Spirit Scholarship is offered to Florida residents with exceptional financial need as determined by self-reported income on the Common App. Aid offers range from $7,500 to $15,000 for the freshmen academic year only. The Gator Spirit Scholarship serves as a provisional assessment of the funding that may be available after a completed FAFSA is received by UF. It is an offer only for the 2024-25 aid year and will be supplanted by other aid when the student’s FAFSA is received and processed.

Out-of-State Tuition Scholarships

UF currently offers a limited number of merit-based tuition scholarships designed to reduce the out-of-state tuition for selected students:

  • Alumni Tuition Scholarship – up to $10,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total up to $40,000 over 4 years)
  • Sunshine Tuition Scholarship – up to $16,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total up to $64,000 over 4 years)
  • Gator Nation Tuition Scholarship – up to $20,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total up to $80,000 over 4 years)
  • UF Distinguished Scholar Tuition Scholarship – up to $8,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total up to $32,000 over 4 years)
  • UF Distinguished Scholar Tuition Scholarship – up to $6,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total up to $24,000 over 4 years)
  • UF Distinguished Scholar Tuition Scholarship – up to $4,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total up to $16,000 over 4 years)

If a student’s residency is updated to in-state for tuition purposes after being awarded a merit-based tuition scholarship, they will no longer be eligible, and the award will be cancelled.

The out-of-state tuition scholarship cannot be combined with another out-of-state tuition scholarship (offered by the School of Music, for example) since both scholarships waive the same portion of non-resident tuition.

Grandparent Waiver of Out-of-State Tuition and Fees

Out-of-State students who have a grandparent who is a resident of Florida may qualify for a waiver of out-of-state tuition and fees. Visit the residency section of the admission website for more information on this waiver and application process.

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