Today’s class meeting for seniors was organized to help future graduates realize the requirements surrounding the Bright Futures scholarship and how to receive free money to help pay for college tuition, a problem many students will face during the application process. 

Bright Futures hopes to support Weld County students by providing them with the resources they need to be able to be successful during their schooling and while entering the workforce. 

Students receive money through their FAFSA application and chosen school’s financial aid team, but are eligible for many more scholarships that they may not know of.

Qualifying for the Bright Futures scholarship is actually quite easy compared to other scholarships students may be looking at. All students need is 16 hours of community service, to be a resident of Weld County, a high school diploma or equivalent, and wanting to apply to universities in Colorado or bordering states such as Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah. 

Senior Crystal Sanchez described the grant as something that she and other students could desperately need. 

“Depending on the financial aid package that you receive after getting accepted into a school, you could need $500 covered for one school and $2,000 for another. Bright Futures help cover these extra costs and you could potentially end up debt free tuition-wise,” Sanchez explained.

In addition, Executive Director of Bright Futures Sarah Rice ran a presentation that included overall financial advice.  She shared her own story of bouncing around from college to college and changing what she wanted to be multiple times.  Bright Futures accounts for this because students can take up to two years off of school and still be able to use the grant for their future education.