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Applying for scholarships is a fantastic place to start if you want to cut the expense of schooling. Scholarships can help alleviate your financial burden by lowering the amount of money you need to borrow in student loans. Those who identify as Hispanic can apply for the Florida Department of Education’s Jose Marti Scholarship.
This scholarship for Hispanic and Latino students is a need-based, renewable grant available to those living in Florida. Since the scholarship is open to all candidates regardless of their fields of study, it is the perfect starting point for your hunt to secure funding for your education.
If you have a GPA as low as 3.0 and demonstrate financial need, you could win this scholarship! Learn how to do that by reading the handy guide below.
About Jose Marti Scholarship
The Jose Marti Scholarship Challenge Grant Fund, or more commonly known as the Jose Marti Scholarship, is a need-based scholarship sponsored by the Florida Department of Education. It is available to eligible students of Hispanic origin who will attend Florida public or private institutions.
The scholarship has enabled many Florida students to attend college. Ever since its launch, the award has helped ease the economic burden of many students who come from underrepresented groups and are often victims of costly U.S. tuition fees.
Moreover, since it is a renewable scholarship, the recipients of the Jose Marti Scholarship enjoy countless benefits as stated below.
Program Benefits
The annual award amount is $2,000, $1,000 per semester enrolled.
As an undergraduate student, you may be eligible to receive the award for a maximum of eight semesters over a period of no more than six consecutive years. On the other hand, eligible graduate students may receive a maximum of four semesters or six quarters of funding.
Recipients can use the scholarship to cover their tuition, board, housing, books, and other education-related expenses. Since it is a renewable scholarship, awardees may appeal for an extension of the admission for the next academic year.
Jose Marti Scholarship Eligibility Requirements
To qualify for the Jose Marti Scholarship, you must:
- Be of Spanish culture, born in or having a natural parent who was born in either Mexico or a Hispanic country of the Caribbean, Central, or South America, regardless of race.
- Have earned a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale by the end of the seventh semester on subjects credible toward a high school diploma, or ensure that an admissions office official at your post-secondary institution plan to attend certifies your GPA online to OSFA if you apply as a prospective graduate student.
- Demonstrate a minimum of $2,000 in financial need.
However, to receive the funding, you must:
- Be a Florida resident and a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
- Not owe a repayment or be in default under any state or federal grant, loan, or scholarship program by the time of applying.
- Enroll as a degree-seeking student at an eligible post-secondary institution.
- Not have previously earned a bachelor’s degree.
- Enroll each academic term for a minimum of twelve credit hours for an undergraduate study or nine credit hours for a graduate study.
Then, to qualify for award renewal, you must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0. For undergraduate study, you must earn twelve credit hours per term or the equivalent. However, you must earn nine credit hours per term or the equivalent for graduate study.
Jose Marti Scholarship Application
To apply to the Jose Marti Scholarship, please submit your Florida Financial Aid Application to the Florida Department of Education before the deadline. Fill in your application by visiting the Florida Student Scholarship & Grant Programs web portal. Next, the department will sort you by the date your application was submitted.
You may apply during your senior year of high school to qualify as an undergraduate applicant. However, suppose you are applying as a graduate student. In that case, you may still be eligible for the scholarship. Nevertheless, please note that the department gives priority for the scholarship to graduating senior high school students.
The following is the order of priority for awarding the Jose Marti Scholarship:
- First priority goes to eligible renewal applicants.
- Second priority goes to initial applicants.
- Third priority goes to reinstatement applicants.
- Fourth priority goes to restoration applicants.
- Fifth priority goes to initial graduate applicants.
Next, to renew your application, all you need to do is maintain your academic performance. Generally, eligibility for renewal is determined at the end of the second semester, third quarter, or the equivalent of each academic year. Basically, the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Student Financial Assistance calculates the credits or clock hours you earned in the previous summer towards the total number of credit hours you need for renewal.
If you fail to meet the required credit hours, you shall be ineligible to continue in the Jose Marti Scholarship. However, it does not necessarily mean that your journey stops there. In fact, you may qualify to apply for restoration after one academic year.
Closing Date
Submit an error-free and complete Florida Financial Aid Application by April 1 to qualify for the early prize. Make sure that you submit your application before the closing date as the Florida Department of Education will not consider late submissions.
However, you must submit the FAFSA on time each academic year to the U.S. Department of Education on or before May 15 to renew your application.
Contact Details
If you have any questions regarding the Jose Marti Scholarship, feel free to contact the Florida Department of Education support team on any of the following channels:
Phone: 888-827-2004
Email: OSFA@fldoe.org
Address: Florida Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance, State Scholarship and Grant Programs, Suite 1344, 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-400
Jose Marti Scholarship Official Website
Finally, you can apply to or find out more about the Jose Marti Scholarship at www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org.
While Scholarship Story publishes guidance on the program, please note that information is subject to change. In other words, always refer to the official website available to confirm any information you read or hear about the grant.
