Panama City, FL – The Florida legislature recently made some big changes to the Bright Futures scholarship program that all students and soon-to-be students need to know about.

One of the biggest changes requires all Bright Futures recipients to complete an error-free Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is the free online application for federal student aid.

This news has a wide impact since in this year alone, over 800 GCSC students received Bright Futures awards totaling more than $1.25 million. Also, 4,254 students received some type of aid which accounted for over $15.8 million.

Students across the country complete this application every year to determine their eligibility for federal student aid such as Pell Grants, Federal Work Study and Stafford Loans. Before this change, Bright Futures recipients were not required to complete this application, but starting this August, if a student has not completed the FAFSA, they will not receive their Bright Futures.

Gulf Coast State College encourages all students to complete their FAFSA now if they haven’t done so already. Applications completed after July 1 may not be processed in time. Students can go to www.fafsa.gov to complete the application and list Gulf Coast’s school code of 001490.

For more Bright Futures information and updates, go to www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org or www.gulfcoast.edu .