Southern Scholarship Foundation (Florida)

Since 1937, the Southern Scholarship Foundation has provided Florida students with a non-cash scholarship: free cooperative-living housing in one of its 26 scholarship houses across Tallahassee, Gainesville, and Fort Myers, serving students at Florida State University, the University of Florida, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee Community College, Santa Fe College, and Florida Gulf Coast University. Applicants must show financial need (an Expected Family Contribution below 7,500) and be 25 or younger on their first day of school; incoming high school seniors can apply for the fall or spring cohort as they enter one of the partner schools. Residents pitch in on house chores in exchange for rent-free living and keep the scholarship by maintaining a 3.0 GPA and submitting a renewal application each spring. A letter of recommendation is required with the initial application; fall-cohort applications are due April 1 (priority March 15), and spring-cohort applications are due November 1 (priority October 15). There is no application fee, though accepted residents pay a $300 reservation fee (half refundable at move-out) plus a shared Food & Services bill of roughly $1,250 per semester.

Eligibility

DemographicsMust show financial need (EFC below 7,500) and be 25 or younger on the first day of school; partner campuses are FSU, UF, FAMU, TCC, Santa Fe College, and FGCU.

Applying

In-kind award: free cooperative-living housing rather than a cash payment; value is the cost of housing at the partner campus. A $300 reservation fee (half refundable at move-out) is due upon acceptance, plus a shared Food & Services bill (~$1,250/semester).