It is the mission of colleges operating in the Florida College System to provide Floridians with the best possible access to affordable, top-quality, career education and academic programs.
The Florida College System aims to maximize the students’ learning experience, to work towards their success, to develop a workforce that is globally competitive, and to respond to community and state needs rapidly.
The Florida College System is the primary and main access point to publicly funded higher education options for all Floridians, including high school graduates and adults going back to college to enhance their education and boost their professional options.
The Florida College System has 28 member colleges (operating 72 campuses) that are in a position to respond efficiently and quickly to meet the demands of employers and businesses by aligning academic certificate and/or degree programs with the needs of the regional workforce.
Colleges operating in the Florida College System are serving local communities, the state of Florida, and numerous individuals through an array of academic programs and services and top-notch, low-cost education opportunities.
Participating colleges are locally governed by school district boards of trustees and fall under the jurisdiction of Florida’s State Board of Education.
The 28-college Florida College System, with over 320,000 students, is regarded as one of the best and finest in the U.S. If you want to see what the hardest colleges are to get into in Florida, go to this page.
The colleges operating in the Florida College System were originally called Junior Colleges and at a later stage Community Colleges. At various times, the schools had also been referred to as ‘trade schools’ or ‘vocational education’.
Practically all (99 percent) FCS students are coming from within Florida. The schools offer a broad range of classes and academic programs to fit the schedules of its many students who often have full-time jobs and care for dependents. For information about Florida’s state-backed Prepaid College Plan, check out this page.
As comprehensive educational institutions, schools in the Florida College System provide affordable top-quality education and training opportunities. They provide high-standard educational opportunities to all students and maintain an open-door admissions policy for their lower-division academic programs.
Colleges in the Florida College System
The following public colleges make up the Florida College System:
- Broward College
111 E Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, Phone: (954) 201-7350 - Chipola College
3094 Indian Circle, Marianna, FL 32446, Phone: (850) 526-2761 - College of Central Florida
3001 SW College Rd, Ocala, FL 34474, Phone: (352) 873-580 - Daytona State College
1200 W Int’l Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL 32114, Ph: (386) 506-3000 - Eastern Florida State College
1519 Clearlake Rd, Cocoa, FL 32922, Phone: (321) 632-1111 - Florida Gateway College
149 SE College Place, Lake City, FL 32025, Phone: (386) 752-1822 - The College of the Florida Keys
5901 College Rd, Key West, FL 33040, Phone: (305) 296-9081 - Florida Southwestern State College Lee Campus
8099 College Pkwy, Fort Myers, FL 33919, Phone: (239) 489-9300 - Florida State College at Jacksonville
101 W State St, Jacksonville, FL 32202, Phone: (904) 632-3222
Serving Duval and Nassau Counties - Gulf Coast State College
5230 W Highway 98, Panama City, FL 32401, Phone: (850) 769-1551
Serving Bay, Franklin, and Gulf Counties - Hillsborough Community College
1206 N Park Rd, Plant City, FL 33563, Phone: (813) 253-7000
Serving Hillsborough County - Indian River State College
3209 Virginia Ave, Fort Pierce, FL 34981, Phone: (772) 462-4772
Serving Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie Counties - Lake-Sumter State College
9501 U.S. Hwy 441, Leesburg, FL 34788, Phone: (352) 787-3747
Serving Lake and Sumter Counties - Miami Dade College
300 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33132, Phone: (305) 237-8888
Serving Miami-Dade County - North Florida College
325 NW Turner Davis Dr, Madison, FL 32340, Phone: (850) 973-2288
Serving Madison, Jefferson, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwannee, and Taylor Counties - Northwest Florida State College
100 College Blvd E, Niceville, FL 32578, Phone: (850) 678-5111
Serving Okaloosa and Walton Counties - Palm Beach State College
4200 Congress Ave, Lake Worth, FL 33461, Phone: (561) 868-3350
Serving Palm Beach County - Pasco-Hernando State College
10230 Ridge Rd, New Port Richey, FL 34654, Phone: (727) 847-2727
Serving Hernando and Pasco Counties - Pensacola State College
1000 College Blvd, Pensacola, FL 32504, Phone: (850) 484-1000
Serving Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties - Polk State College
999 Ave H NE, Winter Haven, FL 33881, Phone: (863) 297-1000
Serving Polk County - St. Johns River State College
283 College Dr, Orange Park, FL 32065, Phone: (904) 276-6800
Serving Clay, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties - St. Petersburg College
6605 5th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33710, Phone: (727) 341-4772
Serving Pinellas County - Santa Fe College
3000 NW 83 St, Gainesville, FL 32606, Phone: (352) 395-5000
Serving Alachua and Bradford Counties
The school offers numerous interesting scholarships for incoming students - Seminole State College of Florida
100 Weldon Blvd, Sanford, FL 32773, Phone: (407) 708-4722
Serving Seminole County - South Florida State College
600 W College Dr, Avon Park, FL 33825, Phone: (863) 453-6661
Serving DeSoto, Hardee, and Highlands Counties - State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota
5840 26th St W, Bradenton, FL 34207, Phone: (941) 752-5000
Serving Manatee and Sarasota Counties - Tallahassee Community College
444 Appleyard Dr, Tallahassee, FL 32304, Phone: (850) 201-6200
Serving Gadsden, Leon, and Wakulla Counties - Victoria College
500 W Livingston St, Orlando, FL 32801, Phone: (407) 299-5000
Serving Orange and Osceola Counties
Universities in the Florida State University System
There are twelve educational institutions operating in Florida’s State University System that offer high-quality education and support services to get students optimally prepared to be successful in the challenging national and international communities. See also this post about Top Universities in Florida. The university with the lowest acceptance rate is the Univesity of Florida in Gainesville (42%), followed by the University of South Florida in Tampa (45%), and so on.
- University of Florida
205 Fletcher Dr, Gainesville, FL 32611, Phone: (352) 392-3261
Acceptance Rate: 42 percent
Tuition: $6,381 (in-state), $28,659 (out-of-state) - University of South Florida
4202 E Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33620, Phone: (813) 974-2011
Acceptance Rate: 45 percent
Tuition: $6,410 (in-state), $17,324 (out-of-state) - Florida A & M University
1601 S Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Tallahassee, FL 32307, Phone: (850) 599-3000
Acceptance Rate: 46 percent
Tuition: $5,785 (in-state), $17,725 (out-of-state) - Florida State University
600 W College Ave, Tallahassee, FL 32306, Phone: (850) 644-2525
Acceptance Rate: 49 percent
Tuition: $5,656 (in-state), $18,786 (out-of-state) - University of Central Florida
4000 Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 32816, Phone: (407) 823-2000
Acceptance Rate: 50 percent
Tuition: $6,368 (in-state), $22,467 (out-of-state) - University of West Florida
11000 University Pkwy, Pensacola, FL 32514, Phone: (850) 474-2000
Acceptance Rate: 50 percent
Tuition: $6,360 (in-state), $19,241 (out-of-state) - Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Blvd S, Fort Myers, FL 33965
Acceptance Rate: 54 percent
Tuition: $6,118 (in-state), $25,162 (out-of-state) - Florida Polytechnic University
4700 Research Way, Lakeland, FL 33805, Phone: (863) 583-9050
Acceptance Rate: 55 percent
Tuition: $4,940 - University of North Florida
1 UNF Dr, Jacksonville, FL 32224, Phone: (904) 620-1000
Acceptance Rate: 59 percent
Tuition: $6,394 (in-state), $20,798 (out-of-state) - Florida Atlantic University
777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33431, Phone: (561) 297-3000
Acceptance Rate: 60 percent
Tuition: $4,831 (in-state), $17,276 (out-of-state) - Florida International University
11200 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33199
Acceptance Rate: 64 percent
Tuition: $6,546 (in-state), $18,954 (out-of-state) - New College of Florida
5800 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243, Phone: (941) 487-5000
Acceptance Rate: 69 percent
Tuition: $6,916 (in-state), $29,944 (out-of-state)