Seniors applying to Miami Dade college and meet the given requirements, may apply to Miami Dade’s American Dream Scholarship by its deadline, August 20, 2020. Before applying, students and their parents must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA).

The FAFSA is the application students fill out in order to determine their financial aid eligibility. Or if the student is unable to fill out the FASFA, he or she can fill out the Expected Family Contribution Calculator and submit it to the financial aid office of the campus the student is going to attend. 

The requirements to apply according to the Miami Dade College website are as follows: 

• You must currently live in Miami Dade County 
• You are entering college for the first time or be a graduating dual enrollee.
• You must have a cumulative high school weighted GPA of 3.00 or above. 
• You must be admitted to MDC and registered for 12 or more credits for the Fall 2020 semester. 
• You must complete the 2020-2021 Federal Financial Aid Application. You do not need to be eligible for federal financial aid, but you must complete the FAFSA application. If you are unable to complete a FAFSA application, please complete the Expected Family Contribution Calculator. Print and submit the results to your campus Financial Aid office. 
• You must prove college readiness by meeting one of the two criteria:
  1. Achieve minimum test scores on approved standardized tests. Any combination of the highest available scores are used in determining your readiness in a skill area. Scores within a two-year period of the test date are considered valid for eligibility purposes. Expired scores will not be used. OR
  2. Have a cumulative high school weighted GPA of 3.5 or greater.
• Students obtaining a standard high school diploma through Florida Virtual School will be accepted if they reside in Miami Dade County.
• GED recipients must earn the diploma during the time period of May – July 2020 in what would be their senior year in high school.
• Students without a GPA on their transcripts (e.g., home schooled) must earn the diploma during the time period listed above and meet minimum test scores.

The scholarship pays for the student to complete his or her Associates of Art or Science with 60 credits. It covers the tuition and class fees for only fall and spring terms, in which the student must enroll full time for at least 12 credits each spring and fall semester.

Other fees including, Aviation and Culinary Arts programs are not covered by the scholarship. If a student fails or withdraws from a class, that class will still be counted towards the 60 credit limit the scholarship has. 

Applying for scholarships can be a long and slow process, but it in the end it will be all worth it because the worry of not being able to afford college will be gone.