First Year

New undergraduate students are required to pay a $35 fee to attend Orientation upon making a reservation. Additional charges may apply for families and guests who choose to attend Orientation. The fee goes toward covering the costs of providing the full Orientation experience to students, including facility rentals, meals, staffing and necessary services and expenses to ensure a successful start. If you’re experiencing financial difficulties, please contact us at myorientation@usf.edu

Orientation is mandatory for all new students at the University of South Florida. We strongly encourage anyone who has concerns about being able to attend an Orientation session to call us immediately at 813-974-3060. Additionally, you might consider updating your term of entry to a later term to allow you to attend a later orientation. To do this, you would need to contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 813-974-3350.

Orientation strives to provide the same experience to all participants. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), we provide special accommodations to students and guests who require this to participate in the session. Requests are often submitted for assistance with mobility, vision or hearing issues.

Other requests might include special dietary concerns or special arrangements for religious observances.

If you need any type of accommodation during your session, please call our office at 813-974-3060 so we can ensure that all your needs are met. Requests should be submitted at least seven business days prior to your session. In cases of emergency situations, we will do our best to meet your needs.

Students requiring accommodations should also contact Students with Disabilities Services at 813-974-4309 for accommodations needed once classes begin.

Families and guests of incoming first-year students will be given the option to attend a supplemental Family and Guest Orientation experience. Like the student Orientation experience, the family and guest experience will include access to an Orientation session with campus leadership. The family and guest Orientation program is only offered for in-person on-campus Orientation sessions.

• A pen (for notetaking)
• A sweater or jacket (the A/C can get cold)
• An umbrella (Florida weather can be unpredictable!)
• A snack or two (but don’t worry, we will provide you with meals!)

The Office of Orientation does not provide overnight accommodations.

While we prefer that you pay for your Orientation with a credit card or e-Check, we can accept checks or money orders. Student reservations are not confirmed until payment is received, so please note that this method will delay your confirmation.

To pay with a check or money order, please log into your Orientation reservation and complete the reservation process up to the point of submitting payment. Then, complete the Cashier Payment Form and mail it to the address listed on the form. You should also then email myorientation@usf.edu to let us know that you submitted payment. We will need to manually confirm your reservation.

Students choosing this option of payment are fully responsible for the Orientation fees.
Financial aid may or may not cover these charges. By submitting this form, the student agrees to pay Orientation fees within other University tuition and fee deadlines.

At this time guest fees will not be charged to a student’s account. Guests may pay for Orientation at any time including check-in (if space is available).

Refunds are available only in specific situations. Click here to request a refund. For more information, contact our office.

During the reservation process, you were given the opportunity for a parking permit for each student and guest. The parking permit will be included in your e-confirmation packet. If you do not have your e-confirmation packet, log back into your MyOrientation account and download the PDF from the My Reservation tab.

Please note: Your parking permit can only be found in your reservation for Orientation so please make sure to log back into your Orientation account to access the permit.

If you did not receive a parking permit in your e-confirmation packet, you can log into your Orientation reservation and request a permit under the Student tab or for a guest under the Guests tab.

Knowing the specific classes you have taken and/or being able to provide an expected AP/IB score will assist in choosing the right classes. To support this, we encourage you to bring your unofficial transcripts with you to Orientation to assist you with your course registration. However, this is not required. An unofficial transcript can be a document from your high school/college or something you print from your school’s online site.

Bringing unofficial transcripts is especially important for students starting in the summer when final transcripts are not yet available. Your academic advisor will work with you if your final transcripts or scores later indicate a change that impacts your pre-requisites.

You can make changes to your reservation details and/or add guests by logging into your MyOrientation account. Refunds are not issued for students or guests who do not show up to their scheduled sessions. Further, reservations changed within three business days of a session or due to "no show" status may be subject to a $25 late/no show fee.

To change your major, you must submit an Application Update Form in your Applicant Portal.

Please note: Many academic programs at USF are limited-access majors that require very specific courses and credits in order to be admitted to these majors. We strongly recommend that you speak with an admissions recruiter prior to submitting the Application Update Form.

You should notify both the Office of Orientation by calling 813-974-3060 and the Office of Admissions by submitting an Application Update Form. Application Update Forms can take up to four weeks to process.

While this rarely occurs, it could be due to several reasons. To troubleshoot this issue, please contact our office at myorientation@usf.edu or 813-974-3060. We will work with you to resolve the issue.

Students may add a family member or guest to attend the Family and Guest Orientation session by logging back into their Orientation reservation by 10 a.m. on their desired session date. Log into the student reservation with your NetID and password, scroll to the section that states “Add a Guest” and pay the additional $50 fee per guest. Once reservations are closed, a family member or guest may contact the Office of Orientation via email or phone to be added to the session date.

If you’ve been accepted into the Student Support Services (SSS) program, you will be required to reserve a date through your Orientation account; however, the fee for Orientation will be billed directly to your student account. Payment is not required at the time of student reservation.

Students who have received information indicating they are eligible or admitted to this
program should contact SSS staff directly at Student Support Services, UGS AskSSS@usf.edu or 813-974-4301.

As a student athlete on scholarship through USF Athletics, your Orientation fees are billed to your student account. Any questions about the fee can be directed to USF Orientation or USF Athletics. When making your reservation, complete all required information and click Submit at the last step. If family members will be attending with you, there is an additional fee for each family member. Please add any additional family members to your reservation after completing the student reservation. This ensures that the student fees will be billed to the student account, while any family fees must be paid prior to attendance at a session.

USF Athletics AEC staff will coordinate your attendance at Orientation around your practices and other obligations. Attendance at an Orientation session is required by USF before starting classes.