New Students

Welcome!

Student Business Services is excited to welcome you and your family to Florida State University. We designed this page to guide you through some of the most common questions involving student financials and to outline a few key steps that you can take now to help prepare for a smoother experience. Please explore the checklist below to make sure you're ready to tackle your finances on day one!

Student Business Services New Student Checklist 

Step 1: Authorize a delegate to speak to us on your behalf

We know that students often rely on the support and counsel of the people you trust to help navigate campus finances. We want to be able to talk with whoever you've chosen to represent you. At the same time, we're committed to honoring privacy rules, like FERPA, which leads to what might be a surprising requirement. Students, we need your written permission to talk with anyone other than you about your FSU account. FSU makes it easy for you to grant and maintain this permission through delegated access.

Add a delegate, or make changes, through myFSU. 

  1. Log into my.fsu.edu.
  2. Select "SC" icon under "myFSU Links"
  3. Click "My Info"
  4. Click "Share My Information" and then follow the prompts. 

Family members and others that might be used to advocating for their student or are paying on a student's behalf are often surprised (understandably) that we need permission to speak with them. If you're helping your student to navigate campus finances, then we want to be able to speak with you and to offer help when and where you need it, so please talk with your student now about becoming a delegate. 

Click for more Information and detailed instructions

Step 2: Set up Direct Deposit for your refunds

Enroll in direct deposit through your myFSU account and we will send your refund to any domestic bank. From receiving financial aid payments in excess of your myFSU bill, to overpaying for a class that you drop during drop/add or for a parking ticket that you successfully appeal later, there are a lot of reasons FSU might owe you a refund. If we need to refund you, we want to get your money to you fast, where you want it. Any student might qualify for a refund in the future, so please take a moment now to tell us where to send it. 

  1. Log into my.fsu.edu.
  2. Select "SC" icon under "myFSU Links"
  3. Click "My Bill"
  4. Click "Direct Deposit Refund"
  5. In Transact, click "My Account"
  6. Click "Sign Up" under Direct deposit refunds" and follow the prompts.

Click for more detailed instructions

Step 3: Review our Budget Worksheet

Many questions from new families relate to estimating your out-of-pocket cost. Check out our budget worksheet that pulls estimates of common charges, like tuition and housing, and various payment resources, like scholarships or college savings plans, to help you fit these pieces together. We've provided some guidance on the forms, but this information varies a lot student to student, so please complete what you can. Sometimes simply writing out the numbers that you already know (or adding in some of the estimates we provide on the form) can help tighten up your overall picture and add a feeling of relief. You might still have questions when you're done, but you might also have a clearer sense of what to ask.

Web-based Budget Worksheets & Net-Cost Calculator hosted by the Office of Financial Aid

Step 4: Know where to find your MyFSU bill

Knowing how to read and understand your MyFSU bill is vital for maintaining control of your financials here at FSU. In our Student Accounts tab, we have broken down our new and improved My Bill section of Student Central into the important parts you need to know, with detailed, visual guides for such activities as checking your account balance and making a payment. Click here for more information.

Your MyFSU bill is available onilne:

  1. Log into my.fsu.edu.
  2. Select "SC" icon under "myFSU Links"
  3. Click "My Bill"

My Bill is presented through several views: 

  • "Charges Due" shows unpaid charges by due date.
  • "Generate Invoice" allows you to create an official statement for any term, as it currently stands, and is the best way to see the big picture of your semester's bill and how your charges, financial aid and other payments, and refunds all sum to your balance due. This self-service invoice is also FSU's official statement for you to present to organizations outside of FSU who request a copy of your bill, like to 529 plan providers or to employers offering tuition reimbursement. 
  •  "Account Activity" allows you to see what changed, by date. My Bill is very dynamic because tuition/fee charges, financial aid payments, and other charges can change with class registration and other student activity. Plus, some payments and refunds follow special timing and payment application rules that mean it's possible to get a refund and still owe FSU a balance -- or to receive a refund and then to owe FSU a balance later.
  • "Make a Payment" allows you to make an online payment and is the quickest way to pay your My Bill. While there is a service fee to pay by card, there is no fee to pay by echeck. 

Step 5: Decide how your federal financial aid will be used

Federal law requires that universities request permission to use your federal financial aid (loans, grants, etc.) to pay for charges that are not related to tuition and housing (e.g. health insurance, parking citations, international programs travel, etc.). If you'd like for the University to use your federal financial aid to pay these charges, grant permissions through your My Bill: 

  1. Log into my.fsu.edu.
  2. Select "SC" icon under "myFSU Links"
  3. Click "My Bill"
  4. Click "Disbursement Permission" 

Click here for more information.

Step 6: Turn in waiver or third party billing documentation

If a third-party institution, such as an employer, a scholarship organization, or a government entity, will be paying for tuition and fees on your behalf, please let us know as soon as possible. Click here for our required Agency Billing Form, which you will need to turn in each term. This form explains other responsibilities that come with using third-party payments.

Certain students, such as FSU or State of Florida employees, students adopted or fostered in the Florida Department of Children and Families system, and students experiencing homelessness, may qualify for a tuition waiver. Click here for more information about the waivers that Student Business Services deals with, including the eligibility and documentation requirements for each program. 

Step 7: Learn more about Florida Prepaid

Student Business Services is your Florida Prepaid contact at Florida State University. We identify students with Florida Prepaid Plans and bill your plan automatically every semester.

Your FPP billing will post to your MyFSU bill by the end of the first week of classes (or otherwise just before financial aid pays) in order to set Florida Prepaid's portion of your FSU bill aside. When we apply financial aid payments, financial aid will only pay towards your remaining balance due after Florida Prepaid.

Since Florida Prepaid pays the rate for specific fees assessed at FSU, we can offer a very specific estimate of what Florida Prepaid is expected to pay based on your plan and enrollment. 

Check out our Florida Prepaid page for details

Step 8: Complete Financial Aid Checklist to be Disbursement-Ready

If you are expecting financial aid, then it is important to be sure that your financial aid award is ready to pay on time and that there is nothing left for you to do. The Office of Financial Aid hosts a web page similar to this one to welcome new students and also presents more focused checklists for the broader student population that offer guidance on applying for financial aid and preparing for disbursement, which might prove helpful in future terms. Please find links to these resources below: 

New Noles: A Welcome & New-Student Checklist from the Office of Financial Aid

Financial Aid Checklists: Applying for Financial Aid & Preparing for Disbursement

For questions related to your financial aid award offer, eligibility, or the application process, please connect with the experts at:

Office of Financial Aid
A4400 University Center
Tallahassee, FL 32306
(850) 644-0539
financialaid@fsu.edu

Other Important New Student Content

Set up your student email on your phone

Your my.fsu.edu email is the primary, official way by which the University, including Student Business Services, will communicate with you throughout your time here as a student. It is crucial that you check this email inbox frequently to stay up-to-date with the University's official communications. For convenience, we recommend that you link your my.fsu.edu email to your smartphone so that it is easier to be alerted when we reach out to you with important financial information.

Click here for step-by-step instructions for setting up your student email on your smartphone.

Sign up for Duo Mobile

Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security designed to prevent unauthorized access to your personal information, such as your direct deposit banking information. It requires you to verify your identity twice—once with your password and once with your phone, mobile device, tablet, or token—before you can access sensitive information within select FSU systems. FSU uses Duo Mobile as our two-factor authentication service.

Click here for more information about two-factor authentication and getting signed up with Duo Mobile.

Waive or sign up for Health Insurance

FSU requires all main campus students to have health insurance as an admissions requirement. You must either purchase an FSU sponsored health insurance plan or provide documentation of existing health insurance coverage in order to register for classes. Click here for more information.

Sign up for Housing

Click here for information about living on-campus, including our residence halls and rental rates.

Sign up for Dining

Click here for information about our meal plan options, including plan pricing and how to sign up.