Colleges in Florida

What's the Difference Between In and Out-of-State Rates?

If you go to or plan on attending a Florida public college or university, you will definitely need to obtain Florida residency for tuition purposes. The difference between tuition payments for residents and non-residents, as everywhere else, differs substantially. At state universities the average yearly tuition for Florida residents is about $4,800 annually, but $19,400 for students not from Florida. If you’re in college for four years the full

cost of attending difference will be a whopping $58,400. At community and state colleges the difference is smaller, about $2,400 per year in-state and $9,000 out-of-state, and since most programs at community colleges and state colleges are only two years, the entire difference amounts to $13,200, still a hefty amount.

Start Gaining Residency as Early as You Can

In order to hold on to as much of this money as you can, you obviously have to begin establishing Florida residency as soon as you can. So when you are positive you'll be attending college in Florida do what you can to start gaining residency. For example, if you know someone with a Florida address, use that to start establishing Florida residency and you might not have to pay any out-of-state tuition rates at all.Even if you decide to go to a private college or university in Florida where everybody pays the same tuition, Florida residency will still have its benefits, for example huge discounts at theme parks and voting in the biggest swing state.

The way that the statute that describes what is required for being able to pay in state tuition reads is that you at least two certain types of documents that prove that you have a Florida address and have had a Florida address for the past 12 months.

Among the two identification documents one must be one of those listed below:

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[see here for complete list]

Among these, I would guess that a voter’s registration card might be the simplest to obtain before actually moving to Florida, just as long as you have a friend in Florida who would not mind receiving mail for you. If there is an election in the meantime, you could vote with an absentee ballot.

The identification documents of which you may use only one to establish residency are:

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[see here for complete list]

Of these I suppose that the proof of membership in a Florida-based charitable organization would be the easiest for you to obtain before you actually move to Florida.

As soon as you have two of the above documents, you can submit them to your college and start paying tuition at the in-state rate.

For more useful information on college in Florida check out the Florida College Guide.