The Jose Marti Scholarship serves the sole purpose of offering financial assistance to students in need particularly those of Hispanic origin, who aspire to attend Florida public schools or eligible private institutions.
However, there are certain limitations associated with this award, primarily tied to the availability of funds.
High school seniors receive priority consideration, and the scholarship is applicable to undergraduate degree programs.
Jose Marti Scholarship Eligibility
To be eligible for the Jose Marti Scholarship award, applicants must meet certain requirements. Here is a breakdown of these eligibility criteria:
Ethnicity:
The applicant must be of Hispanic American descent or have a Spanish cultural background.
With birthplace in Mexico or other Hispanic countries in the Caribbean, Central America, or South America regions.
Applicants must submit a completed, error-free Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) on or before April 1st, 2023.
Academic Achievement:
The applicant must have achieved a minimum unweighted cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale by the end of their seventh semester in high school.
For graduate-level applications, a 3.0 institutional cumulative grade point average is required.
Residency:
Applicants must be legal residents of Florida, US citizens, or eligible non-citizens.
The determination of an applicant’s citizenship status is made by the post-secondary institution.
Financial Obligations:
The applicant must not be in default under any federal or state grant, loan, or scholarship program.
unless they have established satisfactory repayment arrangements for any outstanding repayments.
Prior Degrees:
Applicants must not have previously earned a baccalaureate degree.
Enrollment:
Successful applicants must enroll as degree-seeking students at an eligible post-secondary institution
Maintain enrollment for each academic term, with a minimum of 12 credit hours for undergraduate study or nine (9) credit hours for graduate study.
Jose Marti Scholarship Application
Prospective undergraduate students must apply during their senior year of high school.
They should ensure that their high school designee or principal certifies the student’s seventh semester unweighted cumulative GPA online to the Office of Students Financial Assistance (OSFA), following the date set by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE).
Prospective graduate students must ensure that an admission office official at the intended post-secondary institution certifies the student’s institutional cumulative GPA online to OSFA, by a date set by FDOE.
Eligible applicants will receive disbursements from the post-secondary institution each academic term.
Undergraduate students in five-year programs are eligible for financial aid for a maximum of 10 semesters or 15 quarters.
Undergraduates can receive an award for a maximum of 8 semesters (12 quarters) over 6 consecutive years or until they obtain a baccalaureate degree, whichever comes first.
Eligible graduate students can receive a maximum of 4 semesters or six quarters of funding.
Application Renewal
Recipients are automatically considered for renewal, and renewal eligibility is assessed at the end of each academic year.
Summer credit hours earned may count towards award renewal requirements.
Graduate students must earn at least nine credit hours per term for which they received the award.
Students must file the FASFA each academic year by May 15th for processing.
Failure to meet renewal requirements during the probationary period results in ineligibility, but restoration of one academic year may be possible.
The student must achieve an institutional cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale by the end of the 2nd semester or 3rd quarter of the preceding academic
Eligible students who did not use the award in the previous academic year can apply for reinstatement through the online Reinstatement/Restoration process.
Students who do not meet the required credit hours are ineligible to continue in the program.
Students meeting the credit hours but falling below the minimum institutional cumulative GPA of 3.0 may receive a probationary award for at least two semesters, three quarters, or the equivalent.
To be eligible for renewal the following year after probation, the student must earn the required credit or clock hours and achieve the institution’s average cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.