The Golden Scholars program is an admissions pathway for select first-generation and Financial Aid Recipients. Students selected to be Golden Scholars will participate in an intensive six-week residential summer bridge program before their first fall semester that offers academic preparation, individualized advising, and personal attention from faculty, staff, and peers. Students in the program will have the opportunity to sharpen their academic skills and develop a support network of students, faculty, and staff by becoming familiar with the FIU community and its many resources. The program covers the cost of housing and the meal plan for First-Generation and Pell-eligible students for the six-week summer term and also provides a book stipend. Upon successful completion of the summer program, students who are Pell-eligible and in good academic standing may qualify for a four-year scholarship, with funds available for the Fall and Spring semesters each academic year.
Requirements
To qualify as a candidate for the Golden Scholars bridge program, applicants must be:
- Application only open to current high school seniors.
- Pell Grant and first-generation college students (A student is first generation if neither of the student’s parents earned a college degree at the baccalaureate level or higher or, in the case of any individual who regularly resided with and received support from only one parent, if that parent did not earn a baccalaureate degree.)
- Florida residents (per state residency guidelines)
- Have a minimum 3.0 high school GPA
- NOTE: Satisfying these requirements does not guarantee admission into the program.
To apply to the Golden Scholars bridge program, students must:
- Submit a complete FIU Undergraduate Admission application and the Golden Scholars bridge program application.
- Complete and submit an essay and resume as part of the general application on Academic Works.
- Submit official ACT and/or SAT scores to the Office of Admissions.
- Complete both the 2025-26 and 2026-27 FAFSA.
- NOTE: FAFSA applications can be found through the FAFSA website. Students are encouraged to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool on the FAFSA website.
- Complete the Florida Residency Affidavit Form with required documentation. Please be prepared to upload residency documents when submitting your online admissions application.
The 2026 cohort application is open!
Deadline to apply is December 1, 2025
