What You'll Actually Pay
Price after grants
$4,122 to $18,497 a year for in-state students, depending on income.
College Scorecard 2024 estimate · in-state rates
See the price at your income ↑Sticker price
Full cost before aid: $22,859 a year in-state. Average need-based aid package: $14,954.Aid and debt
42.4%
receive need-based grants
$20,773
average debt at graduation
4,208
students got merit aid
about 11% of undergraduates
$3,367
average merit award
Getting In
A note for out-of-state applicants
University of South Florida shares one out-of-state enrollment cap with several other public universities in Florida — the limit applies statewide, not to this school individually. If you're applying from outside Florida, your odds may be shaped by that shared, statewide limit rather than by University of South Florida's own admissions choices alone.
Per BOG Regulation 7.006.
Key dates
Test scores
SAT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 1160–1340 · 78% of the class submitted
ACT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 25–29 · 22% of the class submitted
29.1% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
What they value
- Very important
- Course rigor (AP/IB)
- GPA
- SAT/ACT scores
- Considered
- Class rank
- Not considered
- Personal essay
- Recommendations
- Extracurriculars
- Special talent
- Character
- First-gen status
- Legacy status
- Where you're from
- In-state residency
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
- Demonstrated interest
What this means for you
USF rates course rigor as Very Important.
MoreLess
Rigor means AP, IB, and dual enrollment carry real weight — make sure your mix of AP or IB courses is strong.
USF doesn't consider demonstrated interest in admissions at all — visits and follow-up emails won't move the needle here.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section C7 (admissions factors)
USF just showed you what it values in an application. Use that to write a Why-USF essay that's actually about you — not a template.
Get sourced starting points for your essayStudent Life
36.8% of USF classes have fewer than 20 students.
36.8%
under 20 students
47.4%
20 to 49
15.8%
50 or more
Every class section counts, labs and seminars included; first-year courses tend to be larger. USF CDS 2025–26, I-3.
22:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus life
11.3%
first-years from out of state
19.34%
live on campus
1.95%
of men in fraternities
3.9%
of women in sororities
Who attends
- White42.5%
- Hispanic25.1%
- Asian9.1%
- Black8%
- Multiracial4.7%
- Unknown / other2.9%
Enrolled undergraduates; international students are counted separately and not included. USF CDS 2025–26, B2.
Popular majors
Will They Graduate?
65.8% of USF students graduate in 4 years.
65.8%
finish in 4 years
Entered fall 2019
78%
finish in 6 years
Entered fall 2019
91.4%
return after first year
Finishing late means paying for extra semesters, so the 4-year rate is the one that shows the cost.
Students with Pell Grants
77% finish in 6 years, against 78% of all students.
Pell Grant students finish at about the same rate as everyone else.
City & Culture
Beyond the data — what it's actually like to spend four years in Tampa.
Tampa is a major Gulf Coast metro and the anchor of the Tampa Bay area, alongside St.
MoreLess
Petersburg and Clearwater — a growing hub for finance, insurance, and health care. USF's main campus sits in suburban north Tampa, about 9 miles from downtown, rather than in the city center.
The City
Major city
Tampa, FL
Best For
Notable alumni
Notable Alumni
Mark Consuelos
Earned a B.A. in Marketing in 1994 and became an actor and talk-show host.
Class of 1994
Jason Pierre-Paul
Attended USF for one season before being drafted 15th overall by the New York Giants; won Super Bowl XLVI.
Alan Boss
Earned a B.S. in Physics in 1973 and became an astrophysicist at the Carnegie Institution for Science.
Class of 1973
Pam Iorio
Earned a master's degree in History from USF and served as Mayor of Tampa from 2003 to 2011.
Class of 2001
Alumni selected for name recognition and range of fields. Not from the Common Data Set.
Traditions
Traditions
Rocky the Bull
USF's mascot since 1965, with its current design dating to 2003.
SuperBull Homecoming
USF's homecoming tradition dates to 1964 and was renamed SuperBull in 1997, with a parade and pep rallies each fall.
Weekend escapes from Tampa
Weekend Escapes
Within driving distance from Tampa
St. Petersburg and Clearwater Beach
About 45-50 minutesTampa Bay's own Gulf Coast beaches.
Walt Disney World and Orlando's theme parks
About 1 hour 15 minutesFlorida's theme-park corridor, a straightforward drive east.
Getting there and game days
Getting There & Game Days
Nearest airport
Tampa International Airport (TPA)
About 25-30 minutes from campus
Flies international — you can start a trip abroad from here.
Pro sports nearby
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFLAbout 30 minutes away
- Tampa Bay Lightning NHLAbout 25 minutes away
- Tampa Bay Rays MLBAbout 30-40 minutes away
Internships and jobs nearby
Career Proximity
Tampa Bay is a growing regional hub for finance, insurance, and health care, anchored by major banks' and insurers' regional operations centers.
Top Industries Nearby
Major Employers
- Citi
- JPMorgan Chase
- USAA
- DTCC
- BayCare Health System
Downtown Tampa, about 9 miles from campus
Who thrives here
Who Thrives Here
USF admits 40.7% of applicants and requires SAT or ACT scores rather than making them optional; the middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted scored 1160-1340 on the SAT. In-state tuition and fees run $6,410 against $18,416 for everyone else, and 81.5% of the entering class comes from Florida. The 39,093-undergraduate student body is genuinely mixed — 42.5% white, 25.1% Hispanic, 9.1% Asian and 8.0% Black. USF became an Association of American Universities (AAU) member in 2023, joining the country's most selective research-university consortium, and its admit rate has tightened accordingly compared to other large Florida publics. Campus life is still largely commuter-shaped: 19.3% of undergraduates live on campus. The trade-offs are the ones that come with scale. Teaching runs at 22 students per faculty member and 36.8% of class sections have fewer than 20 students. 65.8% graduate in four years and 78.0% within six, aid covers 64.0% of demonstrated need, and graduates who borrow leave owing $20,773.