If S25 doesn’t reach the test score he needs for OOS tuition waiver, we are hoping for the Grandparent waiver (he has 1360 but retaking). Does anyone know if it’s better to use the FSU application on August 1 vs the common app because it takes a few days to get to FSU? My understanding is the Grandparent waiver is First Come, First Served.
Any insight is appreciated!
But I think it is first come/first served based on when the Grandparent waiver is filed, not the school application. You need to find out the opening date for the waiver and make sure to get that in one the first day.
FYI, OOS deadline is Regular Decision on 12/1. As the Early Action deadline on 10/15 is for in-state only. FYI, my son applied for CS with a 1460 and got an OOS tuition waiver. Good luck to your son!!!
Oh so is the Grandparent waiver not necessarily available on Aug 1? That changes things. Thanks!
Thanks, I know about those dates. I was asking about the Grandparent Waiver 
Congrats to your son!
But you were talking about which app’s, to which I assume that they won’t even start looking at until after 12/1, so would they even consider the Grandparent waiver before then?
Yeah, he chose to spend more than double elsewhere… 
I know the waiver gets better known and thus more popular every year, and it’s possible it’s harder to get at FSU than UF. With that preamble, my son applied on the last possible day to UF last year (like November 7, because it had been delayed by a week bc/o Hurricane Ian – he just finished freshman year) and was waitlisted for the grandparent tuition waiver until the day after he committed, like May 4 or something. Obviously slots opened up when earlier-appliers committed elsewhere and he got one then. A friend who applied in October knew she had the waiver before the commitment deadline.
And the application date does matter because you can only apply for the grandparent tuition waiver after you apply, and that waiver application date is what sets your priority in line. It is first come, first served, if you meet the criteria.
Right, but if the grandparent waiver is available like Oct 1, and the OP’s child has applied with the FSU direct application on Aug 1 or the Common app which is received, say, Aug 5th, it won’t matter. What is most important is that the grandparent waiver app is filed ASAP (available).
The waiver is granted by the state, through the schools. State says UF gets 300, FSU gets 320, North Florida gets 200, etc, but then leaves it up to the schools to dish them out.
I didn’t realize the grandparents waiver application wasn’t available until October.
FYI, I think you were throwing out those numbers just as an example, but I wanted to flag that the actual number of waivers is an order of magnitude lower at each school—like 34 at UF and 31 at FSU. 350 for the entire system each year. Unless the 2022 guidance pasted below has been updated.
That said, my kid did get one at UF applying at the last minute (applied Nov 2022).
There’s also something about a “reallocation” in September that resulted in UF getting a lot more waivers for the current class of rising juniors. I assume bc other schools didn’t wind up with enough attending OOS students, who meet the academic criteria and have an in-state grandparent.
I didn’t see an updated memo with that info this year. And I don’t know if students were just notified in September that their bill was actually much lower when it came time to pay.
I did not realize the waiver wasn’t available when the application opened on Aug 1. That changes everything. Thanks!
I don’t know the exact date the waiver is available, but I thought it was around Oct 1. It is a fairly new program and they seem to change it a little every year. You just have to stay on top of it and know what documents or information that you need when the application is available.