Jose Marti Scholarship Challenge Grant

The José Martí Scholarship Challenge Grant Fund is a need-based merit scholarship that provides financial assistance to eligible students of Hispanic origin who will attend Florida public or eligible private institutions.

Initial Eligibility Requirements

The student must:

• Submit a completed, error-free Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) by April 1, 2023 (available October 1, 2022). Applicants will be ranked by their application submission date, if necessary.
• 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. Students of the following countries are not considered for an evaluation of this scholarship: Brazil, Spain and Haiti.
• Have earned, by the end of the seventh semester, a minimum unweighted cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale based on subjects credible toward a high school diploma for an undergraduate scholarship, or a 3.0 institutional cumulative GPA for undergraduate college work if applying for a graduate level scholarship.
  • A prospective undergraduate student must apply during senior year of high school and ensure that either the high school principal or designee certifies online the student’s 7th semester unweighted cumulative GPA to the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) by a date established by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE).
  • A prospective graduate student must ensure that an admissions office official at the postsecondary institution the applicant plans to attend certifies the student’s institutional cumulative GPA online to OSFA by a date established by FDOE.
• Demonstrate a minimum of $2,000 in financial need by timely completing and submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in time to be processed error-free by the U.S. Department of Education on or before May 15, 2023.

Requirements to Receive Funding

The student must:

• Be a Florida resident and a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen. A student’s residency and citizenship status are determined by the postsecondary institution.
• Not owe a repayment or be in default under any state or federal grant, loan or scholarship program unless satisfactory arrangements to repay have been made.
• Not have previously earned a baccalaureate degree.
• Enroll as a degree-seeking student at an eligible postsecondary institution and enroll each academic term for a minimum of 12 credit hours for undergraduate study or 9 credit hours for graduate study.

Applying for an Award

• The online Florida Financial Aid Application must be completed error-free by April 1, 2023 to be considered for an initial award (available October 1, 2022). Applicants will be ranked by their application submission date, if necessary.
  • Undergraduate applicants must apply during their senior year of high school.
  • Graduate students may apply; however, priority for the scholarship is given to graduating high school seniors.
• The online Reinstatement/Restoration Application for Students is available February 1, 2023 and must be completed by April 1, 2023 to be considered for reinstatement or restoration.

Award Procedures

The annual award amount is $2,000, $1,000 per semester enrolled. Applicants are ranked first by the highest need as determined by the FAFSA, second by the highest GPA, and third by application submission date. Applicants will be evaluated and notified of eligibility determination mid-summer.

• First priority shall be given to eligible renewal applicants.
• Second priority for awards will be given to initial applicants.
• Third priority for awards will be given to reinstatement applicants.
• Fourth priority for awards will be given to restoration applicants.
• Fifth priority for awards will be given to initial graduate applicants.

Terms of Eligibility

• An undergraduate student is eligible to receive an award for a maximum of eight semesters (12 quarters) over a period of no more than six consecutive years, or until receipt of a baccalaureate degree, whichever occurs first.
• An undergraduate student enrolled in a five-year undergraduate degree program is eligible to receive financial aid for a maximum of 10 semesters or 15 quarters.
• The eligible undergraduate student who enrolls in a 3/2 program ending in an advanced degree is no longer eligible to receive undergraduate funding when a degree-seeking student:
  • Receives a baccalaureate degree,
  • Has enrollment status changed from ‘Undergraduate’ to ‘Graduate’, or
  • Enrolls in ‘Graduate’ level courses.
• An eligible graduate student may receive a maximum of four semesters or six quarters of funding.