From seafood to food trucks and Otter Lake to Big Bend, Tallahassee has a lot going on. Situated half an hour from the Gulf of Mexico, the FSU admissions committee goes through over 30,000 applications a year to determine who gets to be a Seminole.

Let’s take a closer look at the FSU admissions process and the materials needed for your application.

Self-Reported Student Academic Record (SSAR)

To begin applying to FSU, you will need to create your Self-Reported Student Academic Record (SSAR) here. You’ll be assigned an ID number and it’s important that you keep it in a safe place! You’ll need to provide it twice during the FSU admissions process.

The SSAR is used instead of submitting multiple transcripts. The only time you will submit an official transcript is after you are accepted into FSU and plan to enroll there. Your admission will be revoked if they find discrepancies so be careful!

The Application

FSU admissions recommends that you completed your SSAR before submitting your online application. You will need to register for an FSUID. Be sure to keep that information in a secure place as well.

Standardized Test Scores

For each time you have taken the ACT or SAT, have your scores submitted to FSU. If you haven’t taken the ACT or SAT yet, make sure to go into the tests with the FSU’s school codes for the appropriate test. If you’re done taking standardized tests, you’ll need to coordinate with the test’s websites to make sure FSU admissions receives your scores.

Optional Essay

There is an optional essay component. You’re asked to answer one of three questions provided on the school’s website in under 650 words. It is strongly recommended that you submit it.

Residency Form and FAFSA

If you are a resident of Florida, you will need to submit a residency form to prove that you’re eligible to receive in-state tuition. Regardless of where you live in America, you must fill out the FAFSA and have it sent to FSU.

Audition or Portfolio Review

Some majors require you to meet with the department directly. If you’re planning to go into dance, film (animation or production), music, or theatre then you need to be ready for an audition or portfolio review. If you’re not planning to go into one of these programs, you are finished with your FSU admissions to-do list.

Online Status Check

What’s really cool about FSU is you can monitor your application’s progress online through FSU’s Online Status Check. Most communications about your application will be made through here, including their decision to admit you. Be sure to check this regularly!

Acceptance Rate

FSU admissions process is competitive, accepting only 56% of applicants. It is also one of the few schools that does not consider letters of recommendation as part of your application. Here are some numbers for you to keep in mind when you’re looking at applying:

       
•    Average GPA of students accepted to FSU is 3.88, meaning you will need to be near the top of your class.
       
•    Average ACT score is 27. FSU students’ scores range from 25 to 29.
       
•    Average SAT score is 1280. Average subject scores are 610 for math, 32 for reading, and 33 for writing.

Keep in mind that the FSU admissions process looks at everything you send in as part of your application. They tend to pay more attention to your GPA and how challenging your coursework has been over your high school career.

How to Improve Your Chances of Being Accepted

Here are a few ways you can make your application stand out from the rest.

Take a Rigorous Course Load in High School

This is one of the things FSU pays extra close attention to, besides GPA. Be sure to take as many AP and IB classes as you can and do well in them. Study hard, invest in a tutor, ask your teachers for help, take advantage of any extra credit opportunity.

Although FSU’s minimum requirements for admission are to take four years of English and math, three years of natural sciences and social studies, and two years of a world language, their average admit goes above and beyond. This is where AP and IB courses are helpful. Hint: this is something to keep in mind when you’re planning your senior year schedule.

Rock Your SAT or ACT

These scores play a big role in whether or not FSU accepts your application. Study the tests, hire a tutor, take practice exams, and take them multiple times. Starting with applications for 2017, FSU does not require the writing portion for the ACT or SAT. They do strongly encourage you to take both tests multiple times in order to receive the best score.

Here’s one way FSU helps you out when you submit multiple test scores. FSU admissions uses a process called super scoring when evaluating applications. This means they take the best of your ACT or SAT subject scores and combine them to create your best composite score.

Write a Killer Admissions Essay

We mentioned earlier that the essay is not a required part of your application to FSU, but it is strongly encouraged. When a college’s admissions page says, “strongly recommended,” you should consider it required if you want to be a step ahead of the other applicants.

This is your chance to let FSU get to know the “real” you and what you can contribute to their community. It gives you the space to explain why you struggled with your grades sophomore year or how volunteering at the soup kitchen motivated you to go into film so you could expose the food crisis going on in your country.

Brainstorm. Write multiple drafts. Have someone else read it. Re-write it. This is an essay that determines your future so now is the time to pull out all the stops.

The FSU admissions process focuses heavily on academic rigor and GPA when deciding who to admit. Everything submitted as part of your application is incredibly important, because letters of recommendation are not considered. FSU admissions is competitive, but if you work hard and put your best foot forward, you stand a good chance of being accepted.

Are you looking to apply to FSU? Have questions about some of the things we covered? Like college football? (Go Noles!) Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts!