The Florida Board of Regents has established minimum state level admissions’ policies for first-time-in-college students and for students transferring without having AA degrees from a Florida community college. These policies include a list of required high school academic courses considered to be the best preparation for entry into college. These requirements are minimum state standards which apply to all of the eleven public universities in Florida. Beyond these state standards, each public university may establish higher or additional criteria for admission. Reasonable substitutions for admission requirements are available to students having a visual or hearing impairment or specific learning disability. Information about reasonable substitution is available from the University Admissions Office or the Office of Special Services.
A State University System freshman applicant normally must meet the following minimum requirements:
• A high school diploma.
• Test scores from the SAT or ACT
• A “B” average (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) on the following required academic subjects (additional weights will be assigned to grades in Honors and/or Advanced Placement courses):
1 Four credits in English, three of which must have included substantial writing requirements.
2 Three credits in natural science, two of which must have included substantial laboratory requirements.
3 Three credits in mathematics all of which must be at least the Algebra 1 and above levels. (Liberal Arts Math does not count.)
4 Three credits in social science.
5 Two credits in world language, both of which must be in the same language.
6 Four credits in additional approved electives.
Please note that although the state universities only require 19 credits for admission, the Pinellas County School Board requires a total of 24 credits for graduation.
Admission into Florida’s state universities is controlled and competitive. The degree of competition will vary from institution to institution and from time to time, depending on the number and qualifications of those who apply for admission. Generally speaking the competition is greatest for the fall semester because of the large number of applicants for that term. Because of the competitive nature of the admissions process, high school students should try to exceed the minimum requirements in order to increase their chances of admission.