New Students

Log into your student portal and scroll down to the section that reads "My Financial Aid". Choose the "Detailed View" button under the year that you would like to check (e.g. 2026-2027) to see your award details. You may also view our video on Accessing your financial aid package.

1. First, you will need to activate your FSUID to view your financial aid package.
2. If you have recently submitted your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), please review the comments on your FAFSA to make sure the application is complete. You will receive an email when your financial aid package is available, directing you to login to your MyFSU account.
3. If you still do not see your financial aid package, you may need to review your FAFSA to make sure it was not rejected by the federal processor (missing signatures, incorrect SSN’s or invalid information may prevent the FAFSA process from completing. Log back in to your FAFSA application or via mobile app and check the FAFSA comments for instructions on how to finalize your FAFSA).
4. You may also contact us via email at financialaid@fsu.edu, but please note that due to the high volume of emails it may take us up to 3 business days for a response.

If you have been offered grants and scholarships and meet all terms and conditions, you will not need to take any further action. These awards will be automatically disbursed based on your eligibility.

However, if you have been offered Federal Work Study or Federal Stafford Loans as a part of your award, then you'll need to decide if you want to accept or decline these awards.

• Work study can only be Accepted as awarded (full amount) or Declined.
• Loans can be Accepted as awarded, reduced (accept a partial amount based on your estimation of what you will need to pay your expenses), or declined. Please review our resources page for a step by step guide to accept or decline your awards.
• For more information on Federal Work Study, or Federal Stafford Loans, please visit our Types of Aid page.

The United States Department of Education (USDOE) determines your individual family's ability to contribute to the cost of education ("Student Aid Index") using the information you provide on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and a standard formula established by the U.S. Congress. After receiving your Student Aid Index (SAI) amount from the USDOE, the Office of Financial Aid then subtracts your SAI from the standard student budget (average cost of attendance).

We understand that a family's financial situation may change, and we are here to work with you during this challenging time. If you think that you may need to appeal and can document the reduced income, we can help you with this process. We will consider significant and documented income reductions. Your application for appeal will be evaluated based on income during 2023 (2025-2026 FAFSA) 2024 income (2026-2027 FAFSA) including unemployment benefits and other forms of income. Please click on the Special Circumstance Application on our Forms page.

The submission of an application does not guarantee additional financial aid awards.

Yes, awards may be revised for a variety of reasons. Please always complete your FAFSA accurately, report outside scholarships and review the Terms and Conditions of your financial aid awards, that indicate that initial financial aid awards are our best estimate of what you are eligible to receive. You may view your current financial aid package on your Student Portal under "My Finances." Your award may be increased, reduced, or even canceled for various reasons outlined on our award revision page.

You must renew your FAFSA each year. In order to remain eligible for financial aid students must meet the terms and condition requirements. Please review all eligibility requirements, including our Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (SAP).

Grants are considered a form of need based aid that does not have to be repaid. Florida State University participates in Federal, state, and institutional grant programs that offer financial assistance. Please see our Types of Aid page for additional information related to grants.

A student must complete a FAFSA application each year in order to be considered for grant funding at Florida State University.

Scholarships are a type of aid that does not need to be paid back and can be based on merit, extracurricular activities, or demographics. Some scholarships require that you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Filling out the FAFSA should always be your first step in applying for financial aid of any type. The key to earning a scholarship is to make the effort to identify scholarships that you may qualify for, respond fully and accurately to any application requirements, and don't give up! Please see our Types of Aid page for additional information related to scholarships.

Students may search and apply for suitable scholarships offered by the FSU Foundation. Information on these scholarships may be found on the FS4U page.

Federal student loans can be a critical part to your education financing plan. They are a great resource and beneficial when used wisely and conservatively. Loans are considered money you can borrow from the federal government in order to help finance your education while seeking a college degree. They are meant to assist in paying tuition, housing, food, textbooks, and other educational expenses. All loans must be repaid. Please see our Types of Aid page for additional information related to loans.

1. Complete your FAFSA.
2. Accept, Reduce, Decline your loan offer from your FSU Portal. Please review our resources page for a step-by-step guide to accept or decline your awards.
3. Complete the federally required loan counseling and Master Promissory Note MPN. These are federally required steps to obtain a loan.

• Florida State University (FSU) may estimate your Bright Futures award if you reported on your admissions application that you expect to be eligible for a Bright Futures scholarship. A final award will be posted once the state of Florida’s Office of Student Financial Assistance confirms your Bright Futures eligibility. This will generally happen between May and August, as the state collects information including your final grades, volunteer hours and test scores from your high school and the national testing centers.
• Sign into your state Bright Futures application periodically to check your eligibility status. If the state does not show your eligibility, check with your guidance counselor or contact the state financial aid office at (888) 827-2004.

• If you did not report it during the admissions process, then we will update your award once the state confirms your eligibility. The state will send schools eligibility updates on a rolling basis they confirm grades, test scores and volunteer hours and make final eligibility determinations (May – August)
• Sign into your state Bright Futures application periodically to check your eligibility status. If the state does not show your eligibility, check with your guidance counselor or contact the state financial aid office at (888) 827-2004 to determine if information is missing for evaluation.

• Log in to your state Bright Futures application to confirm that FSU is listed as your institution of enrollment for the correct aid year. Please use the school code 371 to indicate FSU as your choice of school.
  • If you are a first time in college student admitted for Summer 2026, Fall 2026 or Spring 2027, you will need to indicate FSU as your institution of enrollment for appropriate terms of the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 years.
  • If you are a transfer student admitted for Summer 2025, you will need to update to show FSU as your institution of enrollment for Summer of the year 2025-2026 and update the appropriate terms for the 2026-2027 years.
• Please verify that your correct social security number (SSN) is on your state application/account and that it matches your SSN on file at FSU. If there is a discrepancy with your SSN, we will not be able to retrieve your scholarship information.
• Confirm your residency as in-state through your Admissions Status portal. Information on residency can be found here.
• If you are a non-citizen and you believe that you may be eligible for Bright Futures, please make sure you submit your visa or other citizenship documentation to FA-OFASCHOLARSHIPS@fsu.edu

• Bright Futures disburses at a rate, specific to your scholarship, to cover the base fee of the course. Bright Futures does not cover additional class charges, such as online fees. Any additional fees not covered by Bright Futures will be your responsibility to pay.
• The Academic Scholarship pays $213.55 per credit hour.
• The Medallion Scholarship will pay $160.16 per credit hour.

Florida PrePaid and Bright Futures work together to cover tuition charges on your student account. If all tuition charges have been paid, the excess aid will then be applied to other outstanding charges such as Housing and/or Dining. If there are no further outstanding charges, you will receive a refund of any remaining aid that you may then use for additional educational expenses, such as books. For more information visit Student Finance.

• The Bright Futures Vocational Gold Seal award is for certificate and career education programs and as such is not valid for use at Florida State University.
• The Bright Futures Gold Seal Cape is also for certificate/career educational programs and as such, is not valid for use at Florida State University unless they student has earned an associate in science degree that will articulate towards an associated Bachelor of Science program. First time in college students starting at FSU would not qualify for funding under these criteria.

For more information on all aspects of the Bright Futures Scholarship, please see the state website to view the Bright Futures Student Handbook.

Please complete your residency affidavit by visiting our residency page.