As crazy as the last few months have been, it is time to acknowledge that the Class of 2020’s era has come to an end. And while the majority of us will be spending our summers working hard to prepare for adulthood, we at Firebird Digital would like to focus on what the rising seniors should know beforehand—hopefully making their year just as unforgettable as our own. 

Senior Checklist

       The first step before graduating high school is, obviously, meeting the necessary graduation requirements. Among these is included the completion of 25 community service hours, to be finished no later than December 1st. However, it would be very beneficial if students did not stop at the bare minimum. These 25 hours can easily be obtained in a week or two, volunteering at animal shelters, schools, and such. Keep on going until you reach 75 or 100 hours; you will knock out one of the requirements for the Bright Futures scholarship, offering to pay 75% to 100% of eligible student’s tuition respectively. Following this, incoming seniors will have to pass a variety of tests.

       After completing the necessary volunteering, incoming seniors should also prepare themselves for the standardized tests used by the state to measure college readiness. These are the SAT and ACT, though keep in mind that most universities will only ask that you provide scores for one. These tests are also required for a Bright Futures scholarship: the Florida Medallion Scholars Award (FMA), which accounts for 75% of tuition and calls for a minimum of a 26 on the ACT of a possible 36, or a 1170 on the SAT of a possible 1600. In order to obtain a scholarship which covers 100% of tuition, known as the Florida Academic Scholars Award (FAS), students must have a 29 on the ACT or a 1290 on the SAT. Additionally, if students aim for the top Ivy-League schools, they should get scores as close to perfect as possible, no less than a 30 on the ACT or a 1500 on the SAT. 

       Finally, students will need to keep a close eye on their GPA average throughout their final year, as this will be their last chance to boost it before their transcripts are finalized. The FMA asks that applicants maintain a 3.0 average, while the FAS asks for a 3.5 minimum. Keep in mind that these GPA requirements are weighted, meaning that any bonuses from taking honors or AP classes apply.  Although the Bright Futures Scholarship only applies to universities within the state of Florida, excellence in grades and test scores is still recognized should the student decide to study out-of-state. Additionally, these scores can also be applied towards the requirements for other scholarships.

       Besides the Bright Futures Scholarship, there are countless other opportunities afforded by universities around the country. Many will have their own GPA and test score requirements which differ from the ones for Bright Futures, so be sure to aim for the score that your target school asks for. Moreover, some schools will ask for a college essay. Schools provide a handful of prompts on their website for students to respond to with a well-written essay which displays their abilities and justifies why they want to/deserve to attend that university. The sooner you start, the more time you will have to revise and edit your work before submitting it with your application, a task made even easier because of Doral Academy’s College Essay Incubator. More information can be found on the school website, but it is an affiliate of the National English Honor Society which meets after class on Wednesdays in Ms. Montenegro’s room, where student tutors can help to edit your essays to make them the best they can possibly be. 

       As a final piece of advice, remember that this will be your final year with your high school classmates. Enjoy yourselves as you start preparing for your futures, and support each other in those preparations. They will be much more bearable that way, and you might even have a bit of fun by accident! My best wishes to the class of 2021, and all the Senior classes to come.