Undergraduate
Financial Aid FAQ

No, as long as you are a full-time undergraduate student (12 to 18 credit hours per semester), your tuition and fees are the same as an in-state resident.

Florida Southern College is a residential community and most students are required to live in FSC housing all four years. If you will live with a parent or legal guardian within 30 miles of campus or meet other exemption requirements (over 24 years of age, married, or have dependent children), new students may request a change of residence status by contacting your admissions counselor.

If you feel the information reported on your FAFSA is not reflective of your family’s present financial situation, you are encouraged to email Financial Aid or call 863.680.4141 to discuss your options.

If your FAFSA is selected for verification, you must complete a verification worksheet and submit any additional supporting documents needed. FSC will notify students via email if selected for verification. You will not be asked to complete verification until you have confirmed your plans to enroll at Florida Southern by submitting your enrollment deposit.

Your gift aid will be automatically accepted by submitting your enrollment deposit. You will need to     complete entrance counseling and sign your Master Promissory Note (MPN) to accept federal student loans you plan to take.

To use a student account credit towards book purchases in the FSC Bookstore, or to request a refund of a student account credit to apply towards books and supplies, please email Students Accounts.

Apply for VA benefits at www.benefits.va.gov. You will receive a Certificate of Eligibility, and you will then need to forward a copy to Candace Howard here at FSC.

Your FSC scholarships are renewable for four years of study, provided you adhere to the terms outlined at flsouthern.edu/icsap. Need-based aid, such as Pell Grants and federal student loans, require that you submit an updated FAFSA annually and continue to meet need-based qualifications.

Confirmation letters for private scholarships can be e-mailed to financialaid@flsouthern.edu and a notation will be added to your student account. Once the check has been received, the scholarship will be applied to your bill and visible in your FSC Portal. Scholarship checks should be mailed to the attention of the Financial Aid Office, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801.

Scholarships and other aid are disbursed in yearly increments. If you graduate early, you are not able to apply any future years’ or semesters’ awards in your final term. For those bringing in advanced credit, we invite you to contact your admissions counselor to discuss options for enhancing your undergraduate degree with additional coursework.

Subsidized

The Department of Education (DOE) pays interest while students are enrolled at least half time in college.

Unsubsidized

Interest accrues as soon as the loan is disbursed, including while students are enrolled in school.

Federal Direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans have annual limits. If you need to borrow additional funds, your parent can apply for a Parent Plus loan at www.studentaid.gov or you can apply for an additional student loan from a private lender such as a bank or credit union.

To complete the process and accept your federal direct student loans, you must visit www.studentaid.gov and complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note.

All eligible students that file the FAFSA are offered loans as part of their financial aid package. Students who wish to decline the loans simply need to email Financial Aid and make that request.

While we offer student employment positions on campus, FSC does not include money earned by the student in any part-time job as part of your financial aid award. Other colleges/universities sometimes place “work study” dollars in a student’s financial aid package up front, however we do not because you must (a) first apply and secure a job on campus, and (b) then work and earn the money over the course of the semester. Thus, we feel it would be misleading to include these dollars as part of your package. If you secure a position on campus, money earned is paid directly to you based on the hours worked. Please email Financial Aid for more information.

Bright Futures is awarded based on the number of enrolled credit hours and will be adjusted if you make changes to your hours. The Academic level Bright Futures award is $211 per credit hour and the Medallion level Bright Futures award is $158 per credit hour. (In your initial award letter, prior to your first term of enrollment, the college estimates your Bright Futures Award at 16 hours per term or 32 for the entire academic year. The actual amount adjusts to hours enrolled once a schedule is finalized for each term.)

Awarded students may receive Bright Futures funding only at one eligible Florida postsecondary institutions per term. A student may log in to access the online system or call The Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) Customer Service at 888.827.2004 to transfer the scholarship to another eligible Florida postsecondary institution. Transferring from one institution to another could affect a student’s award. To receive timely disbursements, OSFA must be notified of institution changes by August 15 for Term 1 (Fall), December 15 for Term 2 (Spring). You may also check initial Bright Futures eligibility by accessing the online system or by calling OSFA Customer Service at the number listed above.
 

You must complete a Transfer Authorization request form and mail or fax it directly to Florida Prepaid. Once processed, payment will be issued directly to FSC.

Your financial aid award letter is a summary of the aid programs you have been offered for the upcoming school year; it is not a statement of charges. While your award letter will indicate the cost of tuition, fees, and room and board (if applicable), exact amounts vary due to housing and room assignment and course placements. Some students may incur additional fees, such as parking permits, school health insurance, and program/lab fees for some majors, or other charges that are not reflected on your letter. You should refer to your bill for an official and complete list of charges or fees.

Please visit the United Healthcare Student Resource Center and complete a Medical Insurance Waiver.

Log in to your FSC Portal and click ‘Go to CASHNet’ to pay using a credit card or electronic check.

For more information, please also visit our payment options page. 

• Apply for a Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan.
• Apply for private student loan assistance through a lender of your choice.
• Set up a monthly payment plan through Nelnet.
• If using FL Prepaid, please complete and submit your Transfer Authorization Form.
• If utilizing a 529 Plan, please send payments (and include your Student Name and ID in the memo) to:

Florida Southern College
Attn: Student Accounts
111 Lake Hollingsworth Dr.
Lakeland, FL 33801

To initiate an international wire transfer, please email Student Accounts.

Please login to your FSC Portal to review Meal Plan Information. All first-year residential students are required to have Meal Plan A.

Apply for a Parking Permit via your FSC Portal.