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🎓 College profile

Florida State University

FL · Public · Mid-size city · 74,038 applicants 2023

R1 Research
25% admit rate SAT 1240–1390 $19,239/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Computer Engineering grads from here earn about $114,802 four years out; fine and studio arts grads about $41,067 — a 2.8× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 6× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$25,720/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$61,675/yr) still runs about 6× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
  • Kids finish — on time. 86% graduate in four years. Nationally, barely half do — and a fifth year elsewhere quietly adds $30–70k to the real price. On-time completion is the most underrated ROI number in this decision.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

Get your child's odds at Florida State University Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Florida State University starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Strong target

Selective but achievable for strong students. Affordable for in-state families — net price averages ~$11,297/yr. Major value play for in-state residents.

✅ Best for

  • Solid academic profiles — the admitted-student bands above are within reach for strong students
  • In-state residents (tuition ~$5,656 — major value play)
  • Students focused on Business, Management, & Marketing (the school's signature program)
  • Research-oriented students (R1 — top tier of federal research funding)
  • Students who thrive in a large, programmatic environment

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1240, or ACT below 27, or unweighted GPA below 3.51 (admitted-class quartiles per the school's own data)
  • With selective universities, build a balanced college list of Reaches, Targets, and Safeties ⓘ
  • Out-of-state tuition is 3.3× the in-state rate

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
R1: Doctoral - Very High Research Activity
Total enrollment
32,212
20,000 and above
In-state tuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid — common above ~$110K income — pay this, minus any merit scholarships.
$5,656
sticker, before aid
Out-of-state tuition
$18,786
+$13,130 vs in-state
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
25.4%
Selective
SAT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
1240–1390
EBRW + Math composite
ACT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
27–31
composite
Test policy
Required
2023
10-yr earningsMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$61,675
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

🎓 High-school GPA

4.40 avg weighted GPA, admitted students

Admitted 4.40 weighted
Enrolled first-years 3.71 unweighted · 4.26 weighted

Enrolled first-years by GPA band:

weighted (school-reported, can exceed 4.0). FSU Office of Institutional Research, Common Data Set 2024-2025, Section C11/C12 (enrolled GPA); FSU News 2/15/2024 admitted Class of 2028 profile (admitted GPA) ↗

As published by the college in its Common Data Set / admissions data (2024-25) (source linked above). GPA basis (weighted vs. unweighted vs. 4.0-scale) varies by college and is labeled above.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$49,814
Earnings, 10 yrs after entryMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$61,675
4-year completionThe share of students who finish a bachelor's in four years. Nationally barely half do — and a fifth year quietly adds a full extra year of cost to the real price.
86%
Median debt (completers)The federal-loan balance of the typical graduating borrower. Families who pay cash aren't counted, so read it as "among those who borrowed."
$18,000

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $19,239/yr at Florida State University; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$25,720/yr. Lower brackets pay less — the full ladder is below. One caveat, once: every bracket figure here averages only the families in that bracket who received aid — it says nothing about whether your family will qualify.

🔎 Earning over $110K? You're above the top federal bracket — the median family headed by a 45-to-54-year-old (the prime college-parent years) earned about $134K in 2024, and the federal data lumps everyone from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Whether you'll get need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats. at this income is entirely college-specific: a few heavily-endowed schools meet full need well past $150K, while many others give little above the brackets shown — there, merit scholarships, where offered, become the realistic lever.

Start your Family Decision Report →

Your odds + estimated net price across your whole college list — then confirm the exact figure with Florida State University's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$19,239/yr
Family income $75-110k
$14,991/yr
Family income $48-75k
$10,496/yr
Family income $30-48k
$6,963/yr
Family income $0-30k
$5,938/yr

📈 The payoffTen years of typical earnings divided by four years of cost. A 3× means a decade of median pay covers the cost three times over — check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you., both ways

6.0× at full price 13.6× with aid
Full price, no aidThe all-in yearly price — tuition, housing, food, books, fees — before any aid. This is the real "full price," not just the tuition line. (4 yrs, in-state)
$102,880
~$25,720/yr all-in (out-of-state runs higher)
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$45,188
$11,297/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$616,750
$61,675/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
1.7 yrs
at full price (0.7 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41–NPT45; Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates; suppressed brackets = small cohorts; the $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — the brackets haven't been refreshed since the early 2010s). Payoff multiple = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (4-yr cost); full price is the published cost of attendance, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Florida State University

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Florida State University actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
2,289 degrees · 40.4%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Social Sciences
1,182 degrees · 20.9%
Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.
3. Psychology
767 degrees · 13.5%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
4. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
727 degrees · 12.8%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
5. Health Professions
701 degrees · 12.4%
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.

💼 What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Florida State University's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Computer Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 34 $78,941 $114,802
Management Information Systems and Services. Bachelor's Degree 127 $66,252 $103,648
Industrial Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 33 $76,426 $96,504
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. Bachelor's Degree 49 $62,578 $94,887
Security Science and Technology. Bachelor's Degree 38 $58,249 $93,841
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 35 $72,425 $93,740
Computer and Information Sciences, General. Bachelor's Degree 367 $61,376 $93,727
Insurance. Bachelor's Degree 112 $61,071 $92,064
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 182 $55,626 $91,056
Chemical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 52 $70,797 $90,815

Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →

📈 Student body & economic mobility

Who attends here — and what the campus adds.

Opportunity Insights data. Why it matters even if you're full-pay: a high mobility rate means the campus itself confers earnings power — the outcomes aren't just selection effects.

Top-1% access
2.3%
from top-1% households
Mobility rateThe share of ALL students who arrived from the bottom 20% of family incomes AND reached the top 20% themselves by their early 30s — access and lift in one number, and a sign the campus itself adds earnings power.
2.2%
bottom 20% → top 20% by age 32
Upward rate
34.2%
of lower-income students who reach the top 20%
Pell recipientsStudents receiving federal Pell grants, which go to lower- and middle-income families — the standard shorthand for a college's economic mix.
23%
on federal need grants — context for these numbers

Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Florida State University

CS degrees (annual)
287
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Florida State University

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
University of Alabama in Huntsville
AL · Public
39 stats-based merit scholarships
Texas Tech University
TX · Public
30 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
The University of Alabama
AL · Public
21 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
💰 Lower full price
Similar selectivity, but a meaningfully lower full sticker price — the comparison that matters most for families who won't qualify for much need-based aid.
United States Merchant Marine Academy
NY · Public
$9,168/yr full price (in-state) · $16,552 less before aid
CUNY Hunter College
NY · Public
$13,905/yr full price (in-state) · $11,815 less before aid
CUNY Brooklyn College
NY · Public
$14,151/yr full price (in-state) · $11,569 less before aid
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
University of Central Florida
FL · Public
40% admit rate (vs 25% here)
University of South Florida
FL · Public
41% admit rate (vs 25% here)
Florida Polytechnic University
FL · Public
56% admit rate (vs 25% here)
🚀 Stronger campus value-add
Per Opportunity Insights, these campuses add more earnings power to the students they enroll than Florida State University does — a quality signal, not a cost play.
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
NY · Public
12.9% mobility rate (vs 2.2% here)
CUNY City College
NY · Public
11.7% mobility rate (vs 2.2% here)
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
NY · Public
9.7% mobility rate (vs 2.2% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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