<p>It doesn’t add up to say it doesn’t matter - FSU is a public univerisity with at least a portion of their funding coming from the state of Florida. It is part of their state charter to have a strong % of Florida-based students, otherwise it would be a private school. The state of Florida receives it’s funding from taxes, which while some comes from tourism, is mostly paid by residents = future students from the state. </p>
<p>That said, ALL of these schools compete for the best academic students as it boosts their averages and reputation. So if you’re a top student, I suppose it’s correct to say that overrides state residency by a long shot - but if your academics place you in the same pool as the averages noted, the state resident pool will get stronger consideration. Hence my previous comment that you’re better off being towards the upper end of their 2014 middle student acceptances. Another consideration that is helping OOS students at all schools is that they typically pay much higher tuition rates, which does help the school financially - that is, unless you’re a national merit scholar or fall in to a competitve pool that makes you desirable. It won’t hurt if your family has the ability to pay the higher tuition rates…</p>