Hey guys! I was accepted to UF for the class of 2020. I dream of being a gator, but I am scared I will not be able to attend, I am from Ohio, so my tuition and housing will come to about $42,000 per year; this is a huge price tag for my $3,000 EFC. I heard that the most grants the financial office can offer me is around $11,400. Therefore, I would need $120,000 in loans. I saw many other colleges (like UCF), offer out of state residency waivers for low income OOS students. I was wondering if UF offered anything like that, and who I should call to get one?
Unless your parents plan on moving to florida and taking up residency, it is highly unlikely that you are going to qualify for a waiver.
While you hope to be a gator, I hope that you have considered becoming a buckeye or a resident of one of the more affordable schools in your home state.
The ‘Big 3’ in Florida, UF, FSU, and UCF all have to follow the residency guideline set up by the state, but all administer their own financial aid. UCF probably has the most programs and grants. FSU has a program whereby if you do one of the special study abroad programs as a freshman, you then have instate status when you start on campus. There are also a lot of military residence exceptions, and if a parent bought a prepaid tuition program years ago (this program is no longer available for purchase), you get to pay instate tuition.
You have to look at only the school you want to go to. You cannot assume that since UCF has a waiver that UF will too. Many of the smaller Florida public schools have FA or waivers to attract OOS students.
@sybbie719 can a family just move to Florida and take up residency for the kid to qualify for in-state? I thought it will require 12 month prior…but what happens to family where parents retire?
You will have to take up residency 12 month prior (you cannot be instate for the sole purpose of attending college. They would waive the 12-month if you are a military family who got stationed there. You would probably get a waiver if your job moved to the state.