Florida Gulf Coast University
Admissions Info
Admission Requirements
- All Freshman applicants must show proof that they are high school graduates or in the process of graduating from high school or have a GED certificate.
- Official high school transcripts reflecting courses completed from ninth grade through the eleventh grade must be sent by the applicant's high school to FGCU when the applicant applies to FGCU. *NOTE* A final high school transcript showing date of graduation will be required following high school graduation.
- Applicants with a GED must submit official GED test scores . Also, the applicant must present a score of at least 1450 on the SAT (Critical Reading, Math and Writing) or a 21 on the ACT (Reading, English, Math and Writing). Subsections of each test must be above the minimum admissions requirements described below.
- Do not send letters of recommendations or personal essays as these are not used in the preliminary review of your application.
- Applicants who meet the minimum admission requirements are not guaranteed admissions.
Minimum Weighted GPA
3.0
460 Critical Reading
460 Math
460 Writing
SAT
OR
19 Reading
19 Math
19 English
19 Combined English/Writing
ACT
Foreign Language Requirements
Applicants must meet the foreign language requirements to qualify for admissions.
Required High School Units & Weighted GPA
Complete 18 academic units in the following table:
Students Entering High School
July 1, 2007 or later
Students Entering High School
Prior to July 1, 2007
English4 units
must include 3 units of substantial writing requirements
Math4 units
Algebra I level or higher3 units
Algebra I level or higher
Natural Science
3 unitsmust include 2 units of laboratory requirements
Social Science
3 unitsmay include anthropology, history, civics, political science,
economics, sociology, psychology, and/or geography
Foreign Language
2 unitsmust be in the same language. American Sign Language
will be accepted inplace of a foreign language.
Electives2 units3 units
Any combination of courses listed in the Department of Education Course Code Directory
located at: www.fldoe.org/articulation
WeightedGPA
The weighted, or district, GPA reported on your high school transcript will be used in the admissions review process. If your school does not provide a weighted GPA, then one will be calculated using the grades in the courses above.
Additional points will be added to units:
1 pt. added to courses for grades of C or higher in the following courses: Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Dual Enrollment (DE) courses, and Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE).
½ pt. added to courses for grades of C or higher in the following courses: Honors, pre-IB, and pre-AICE courses
Freshman Admission Process
- Application & Fee must be submitted using the FGCU online application and the non-refundable $30.00 application fee. Applicants may pay the fee using a major credit card or sending a check payable to Florida Gulf Coast University. SAT/ACT fee waivers may also be submitted if an applicant qualifies for this option. Application fees are not refunded if an application fee waiver is received after another form of payment has been processed. All questions in each section of the application should be answered to avoid processing delays.
- Official high school transcripts must be submitted using one of the three methods listed below. Transcripts sent from a personal email address or by fax are unofficial and will not be accepted.
FASTER (SPEEDE): Most Florida public high schools send transcripts electronically through FASTER the Florida electronic transcript service. Contact your school's Registrar or Guidance office for more information on this option. FGCU's SPEEDE code is 730000003255300.
Other Transcript Services (Parchment, eSCRIP-SAFE or the National Clearinghouse):Some high schools send transcripts electronically using a third-party transcript services such as Parchment, eSCRIP-SAFE or the National Clearinghouse. Notifications to view transcripts from these services should be sent to undergrad@fgcu.edu. Contact your school's Registrar or Guidance office for more information on this option. PDF transcripts must be sent directly from the transcript service to the undergrad@fgcu.edu email address to be considered official.
Paper via Postal Mail: Official paper transcripts, in a sealed envelope, should be sent to the mailing address below.
GED, home-school or international high school transcripts: Applicants who hold a GED must submit official GED test scores by postal mail. Home-schooled applicants must submit a notarized transcript - click the link for more details. If you are attending, or have graduated from, a high school in another country you must have the transcript evaluated by aninternational transcript evaluation agency and this report sent to the admissions office - click the link for more details. These three items should be sent to the mailing address below.
- Official SAT and/or ACT test scores must be submitted. FGCU accepts the American College Test (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT I Reasoning Test) for admission purposes. These test scores can be sent to the admissions office electronically using FGCU's ACT code (0733) or SAT code (5221). Applicants may also have the testing agency send a paper test score report to the mailing address below. Test scores posted on official high school transcripts may also be accepted. In consideration of the priority admissions deadlines, applicants who submit test scores after February are not guaranteed admission and they may have to defer their applications to a future term.
In March 2016, the College Board will offer a redesigned SAT. Applicants may submit scores from either version of the test to FGCU as each required score will be included in the admission’s evaluation process. There will be a correlation standard used to compare scores. The FGCU Admissions website will contain the most up-to-date information on the redesigned SAT and the admissions process.
About FGCU
Vision
Florida Gulf Coast University will achieve national prominence in offering exceptional value in high-quality educational programs that address regional and statewide needs. Our programs, firmly grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, will employ emerging instructional technologies. Possessing an entrepreneurial spirit, graduates will be well prepared for productive lives as civically engaged and environmentally conscious citizens with successful careers, ready to pursue further education.
Approved by the FGCU Board of Trustees September 8, 2015.
Mission
Florida Gulf Coast University, a regional comprehensive institution of higher education, offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs of strategic importance to Southwest Florida and beyond. FGCU seeks academic excellence in the development of selected programs and centers of excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, health professions, business, and marine and environmental sciences. Outstanding faculty and staff supported by a strong community of advisors prepare students for gainful employment and successful lives as responsible, productive and engaged citizens. FGCU emphasizes innovative, student-centered teaching and learning, promotes environmental sustainability, embraces diversity, nurtures community partnerships, values public service, encourages civic responsibility, and cultivates habits of lifelong learning and the discovery of new knowledge.
Approved by the FGCU Board of Trustees September 8, 2015.
Guiding Principles
The founding of Florida Gulf Coast University at the advent of a new century is a signal event. It comes at a moment in history when the conditions that formed and sustained American higher education are fundamentally changing, and at a time when rapid shifts wrought by technology and social complexities are altering the very nature of work, knowledge, and human relationships. As a public institution, Florida Gulf Coast University eagerly accepts the leadership opportunity and obligation to adapt to these changes and to meet the educational needs of Southwest Florida. To do so, it will collaborate with its various constituencies, listen to the calls for change, build on the intellectual heritage of the past, plan its evolution systematically for the twenty-first century, and be guided by the following principles:
Student success is at the center of all University endeavors. The University is dedicated to the highest quality education that develops the whole person for success in life and work. Learner needs, rather than institutional preferences, determine priorities for academic planning, policies, and programs. Acceleration methods and assessment of prior and current learning are used to reduce time to degree. Quality teaching is demanded, recognized, and rewarded.
Academic freedom is the foundation for the transmission and advancement of knowledge. The University vigorously protects freedom of inquiry and expression and categorically expects civility and mutual respect to be practiced in all deliberations.
Diversity is a source of renewal and vitality. The University is committed to developing capacities for living together in a democracy whose hallmark is individual, social, cultural, and intellectual diversity. It fosters a climate and models a condition of openness in which students, faculty, and staff engage multiplicity and difference with tolerance and equity.
Informed and engaged citizens are essential to the creation of a civil and sustainable society. The University values the development of the responsible self grounded in honesty, courage, and compassion, and committed to advancing democratic ideals. Through service learning requirements, the University engages students in community involvement with time for formal reflection on their experiences. Integral to the University's philosophy is instilling in students an environmental consciousness that balances their economic and social aspirations with the imperative for ecological sustainability.
Service to Southwest Florida, including access to the University, is a public trust. The University is committed to forging partnerships and being responsive to its region. It strives to make available its knowledge resources, services, and educational offerings at times, places, in forms and by methods that will meet the needs of all its constituents. Access means not only admittance to buildings and programs, but also entrance into the spirit of intellectual and cultural community that the University creates and nourishes.
Technology is a fundamental tool in achieving educational quality, efficiency, and distribution. The University employs information technology in creative, experimental, and practical ways for delivery of instruction, for administrative and information management, and for student access and support. It promotes and provides distance and time free learning. It requires and cultivates technological literacy in its students and employees.
Connected knowing and collaborative learning are basic to being well educated. The University structures interdisciplinary learning experiences throughout the curriculum to endow students with the ability to think in whole systems and to understand the interrelatedness of knowledge across disciplines. Emphasis is placed on the development of teamwork skills through collaborative opportunities. Overall, the University practices the art of collective learning and collaboration in governance, operations, and planning.
Assessment of all functions is necessary for improvement and continual renewal. The University is committed to accounting for its effectiveness through the use of comprehensive and systematic assessment. Tradition is challenged; the status-quo is questioned; change is implemented.
FGCU Online
Website: http://www.fgcu.edu/about.asp
Location: 10501 FGCU Blvd, South Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565
Phone: (239) 590-1000 (800) 590-3428