Assignment 4A- Forming an opportunity Belief

      I have had an opportunity belief on my mind for about 2 years now. This unmet need has to do with Bright Futures Scholarships. Bright Futures gives away scholarships every year for graduating high school seniors with one HUGE catch, you must meet their GPA and ACT/SAT requirements. A couple of years ago these requirements were achievable by most students which was very helpful because college is an extremely huge money investment. But, more recently Bright Futures changed their requirements for the ACT/SAT scores that students need to have to earn any of the 3 scholarship levels that they offer. This angered me at first but then it brought an idea or an opportunity per say to me. My opportunity belief is to have two categories of Bright Future Scholarships that students can earn. The first scholarship would be based solely on your ACT/SAT test scores and your GPA. The second scholarship would be based on your involvement in high school, what kind of clubs or organizations was the student in and was this student also balancing a job while attending high school. Having these two types of scholarships would create an equal opportunity for all graduating high school seniors. The people who have this need are all of the fellow high school graduates like me who did not receive a Bright Futures Scholarship due to the high requirements of your GPA and test scores. This need has always existed because there have always been high school students that are college bound and have not received any type of scholarship due to their scores and/or GPA. Right now, you can find just a handful of non-academic scholarships available on various websites for example on www.Scholarship.com. There are only 96,806 students that received Bright Futures in the 2016-2017 school year (www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org) given that Florida public schools have an 84% graduation rate (www.usnews.com) proving that Bright Futures does not nearly cover enough of the students in Florida. I am 50% sure that this opportunity exists. 

#1: 2nd Year College Student Who Received Florida Bright Futures in High School

• Did you feel that the amount of scholarships that you received senior year of high school was enough?
• No, I participated in a lot of things in high school but unfortunately only received bright futures
• Would you be able to attend college right now if it was not for your Bright Futures Scholarship/ How are you managing to pay for college without receiving a Bright Futures Scholarship? 
• Yes I would be able to attend 
• Did you know that there is an 84% graduation rate in Florida and that over half of those graduates will not receive any scholarships? How does this make you feel?
• No, I did not know that and honestly it is upsetting but I am not that surprised just because most people i know did not get many scholarships unless they were in a low income family
• What is your opinion on the current Bright Futures Scholarship requirements?
• I think the GPA requirements and community service hours does not match up to how high of a test score that they require 
• How do you feel about having a Bright Futures Scholarship that would only look at your involvement in high school and not test scores or GPA?
• I think that would be more fair because many people are naturally good test takers and/or could be in much easier classes than other so you can't really compare GPA.

Reflection: After talking to this college student I realized that even students who received the Bright Futures Scholarship believe that the requirements are a little bit too demanding. 

#2: 2nd Year College Student Who Did Not Receive Florida Bright Futures in High School

• Did you feel that the amount of scholarships that you received senior year of high school was enough?
• No, I did not receive any scholarships or bright futures.
• Would you be able to attend college right now if it was not for your Bright Futures Scholarship/ How are you managing to pay for college without receiving a Bright Futures Scholarship? 
• I'm paying for college through student loans.
• Did you know that there is an 84% graduation rate in Florida and that over half of those graduates will not receive any scholarships? How does this make you feel?
• No I was not aware of that and that is shocking because I feel that more people should be allowed to get a scholarship.
• What is your opinion on the current Bright Futures Scholarship requirements?
• The requirements are difficult to reach but it is helpful to those who can get it.
• How do you feel about having a Bright Futures Scholarship that would only look at your involvement in high school and not test scores or GPA?
• It would give me another opportunity to get an award for my skills and hard work.

Reflection: This conversation surprised me the most because this student helped me realize that there is a real life need that needs to be met for Bright Futures having another form of their scholarship.

#3: High School Senior Applying for Bright Futures Scholarship

• Did you feel that the amount of scholarships that you received senior year of high school was enough?
• I have not received any scholarships yet because I am just now being able to apply for some.
• Would you be able to attend college right now if it was not for your Bright Futures Scholarship/ How are you managing to pay for college without receiving a Bright Futures Scholarship?
• No, if I do not receive a Bright Futures Scholarship I will not be able to afford college so I am really hoping that does not happen. 
• Did you know that there is an 84% graduation rate in Florida and that over half of those graduates will not receive any scholarships? How does this make you feel?
• I think I have heard that before I just did not know the exact percentage but that makes me feel scared as a senior and worried for my scholarships I could receive.
• What is your opinion on the current Bright Futures Scholarship requirements?
• I think it is way too much to be asking for and I wish there was another state funded scholarship that was available.
• How do you feel about having a Bright Futures Scholarship that would only look at your involvement in high school and not test scores or GPA?
• I think that would be an amazing idea and would really allow a lot more seniors to go to college without having financial obligations.

Reflection: After talking to this high school senior I really felt that this student represents most of the seniors in Florida when it comes to being nervous and wondering if they are going to get enough scholarships to go to college or not.

All in all, there is definitely a need for my opportunity and more of a need than I thought there was going to be. After interviewing these 3 students I feel that this is an issue that needs to be addressed for the sake of all graduating seniors in the state of Florida. The most shocking thing to me was that 2 of my 3 interviewees options were to either take out student loans or to not go to college.