The Florida scholarship program, “Bright Futures” began in 1997. It is one of the first merit based scholarships implemented in states across the nation to award students with exemplary academic achievement. This program has gone through several changes since its inception, including recent changes to the test score eligibility requirements. Beginning in July 1, 2013 students will have to have a minimum SAT score of 1170 or a minimum score of 26 on the ACT to qualify for Bright Futures. An unfortunate consequence of this tightening is the unanticipated restriction of access for Florida’s low SES and racial ethnic minority students. In fact, the state of Florida has recently come under fire for claims that the new program requirements are a subtle form of discrimination against traditionally underrepresented population in higher education.[1]  In light of this context, this is a policy paper constructed to examine the development of state merit scholarship programs and enrollment trends in several key states implementing these programs. I also include policy recommendation for the transformation of the Bright Futures Program into merit/need hybrid scholarship program.  I will use descriptive statistics to examine enrollment trends in addition to a review of literature on the history of merit scholarships. In reference to the state of Florida I propose that a cap, based on the expected family contribution, be instituted for scholarship recipients in addition to returning the academic requirement to previous levels for achievement scores. Several states have opted to offer merit/need based programs, including the state of California, which is similar to Florida both in size and demographic makeup. These proposed changes will benefit the state of Florida, Florida postsecondary institutions, and Florida students in many ways including increasing access to Florida’s changing demographic and possible reduction in funding dedicated to Bright Futures Program. The central goal of merit programs is to increase the education of that state’s citizens and to encourage the talented to remain in the state. Specifically, the Bright Futures program was designed to reduce the achievement gap and funnel more minority students into college.[2] The traditional dichotomy between “need-based” and “merit-based” aid, however has been proven ineffective. [3] And while research has shown that no one model fits every state when it comes to merit programs, there is a pressing need for states to redesign programs that will have the most effect on college degree attainment.