What is tuition residency?

Your tuition residency determines whether you will be assessed as an in-state or out-of-state student. An out-of-state student pays all of the same fees as an in-state student (tuition, capital improvement, financial aid, athletics, activities, health, technology, parking, student affairs facilities, etc.) but also pays two additional out-of-state specific fees (out-of-state tuition and out-of-state financial aid). When students are admitted to the university, we assume that everyone is out-of-state, and students are required to prove otherwise by completing a Residency Declaration with the Office of Admissions. 

You can find more information about tuition residency on the university's Florida Residency for Tuition Purposes Policy page or Residency FAQ.

I've been an in-state resident for years, why are you charging me out-of-state suddenly?

Students are required to declare residency every time they swap careers or apply to the University for a new academic program. When you are admitted to a new program, your residency value is set to out-of-state and you have to go through the process of declaring in-state residency by completing the Residency Declaration again. 

I have Florida Prepaid, does that make me in-state automatically?

Yes and no-- our residency policy states that owning a Florida Prepaid account does qualify you as an in-state resident, but you will still need to complete a Residency Declaration to claim that exemption before we will change your residency to in-state.

I submitted a residency declaration, but haven't heard anything, who do I contact?

All residency declarations pass through the Office of Admissions. You can use your Online Status Check to verify that your declaration was received, and when it's reviewed your status check will be updated with that information. If you don't see that your declaration was received or reviewed, contact the Office of Admissions at 850.644.6200 or admissions@fsu.edu. 

I'm an out-of-state student who is taking a zero-credit hour class and is being assessed out-of-state fees, whom do I contact?

Students who enroll in a zero credit hour class and no other credit-bearing courses are required to pay for one credit of instruction. If you're out-of-state, FSU policy states that your one credit will be assessed at the in-state rate. If your zero-credit hour course is being assessed at the out-of-state rate, reach out to Staci Bushman at staci.bushman@fsu.edu. 

I'm a Latin American or Caribbean Scholarship recipient and my scholarship comes with in-state tuition, how does this work?

Students who are awarded the Latin American or Caribbean Scholarship qualify for in-state tuition. Your academic department will award this scholarship and send authorization paperwork to Student Business Services during the first three weeks of the semester. Student Business Services will validate your citizenship, funding, and other eligibility criteria, and will then ask Admissions to change your residency to in-state for the term. This process starts after the drop/add period has ended for the term, at which point you expect to see your tuition due date deferred and your award applied. Your residency will reset to out-of-state every term until we validate your award and eligibility. If you have questions or concerns about this process, reach out to Corey Sebring at csebring@fsu.edu.