Freshmen Admissions Scholarships

Grandparent Waiver

Background

Out-of-state undergraduate first-year students who are admitted for the 2023-24 academic year and have a grandparent residing in Florida (for over 1 calendar year) may be eligible for a waiver of the Non-Resident (out-of-state) fee.

Student eligibility

Students must meet the following requirements to be eligible for the grandparent waiver.

  1. Have a grandparent who is a legal resident of Florida 
    1. The term “grandparent” means a person who has a legal relationship to a student’s parent as the natural or adopted parent or legal guardian of the student’s parent.
    2. The following documents will be considered acceptable for determining grandparent’s residency and relationship to student.
      1. A form (Grandparent Waiver Application) that a parent or grandparent has signed regarding the familial relationship.
      2. A form (Grandparent Florida Residency Declaration) that grandparent completes to demonstrate Florida residency.

  2. Earn a high school diploma comparable to a Florida standard high school diploma, or its equivalent, or completes a home education program. 

  3. Achieve
    1. An SAT combined score of 1340 or greater; or
    2. An ACT composite score of 29.

  4. Enroll as a full-time undergraduate student in the summer or fall term immediately following high school graduation and continuously enroll full-time every fall and spring term until the requirements for the bachelor’s degree have been completed.
    1. The student must be enrolled full-time (minimum 12 credits) at the end of drop/add in each term to maintain eligibility.
    2. Summer enrollment is not required.
    3. If a student enrolls part-time, grandparent waiver eligibility will be lost

  5. It is the student’s responsibility to apply for this waiver and submit all necessary documentation in accordance with university deadlines.

  6. If a student transfers to another institution, they must apply for the waiver at the new institution for consideration.

  7. Students who receive the grandparent waiver will be treated as Florida residents and will only be charged fees charged to resident students.

  8. The grandparent waiver is applicable for up to 110 percent of the number of required credit hours (i.e., total degree hours) of the degree program for which the student is enrolled.

 Awarding

The grandparent waiver will be awarded according to the following guidance.

  1. USF has been allocated 34 grandparent waivers for the 2023-24 incoming first-year class.

  2. Admitted Students will be “eligible” for grandparent waivers as determined by date student has submitted all necessary documentation.

  3. Email both completed documents to grandparentwaiver@usf.edu

  4. “Eligible” students will be “awarded” a grandparent waiver on a first-come, first-served basis up to the maximum allocation of 34 based on the date a student pays the $200 Admissions deposit or submits a deposit fee waiver.

  5. The waiver may not be applied retroactively.

  6. Scholarships awarded by the Office of Admissions are not stackable (can’t be combined with other Admissions merit based scholarships) on grandparent waiver.