New Students

May 7, 2025 or earlier – Arrive in Tallahassee and complete your Arrival Confirmation in Nole Start under Newly Admitted Students. In the Arrival Confirmation, follow the instructions to enter the Tallahassee address where you are sleeping at night as your SEVIS address in my.fsu.edu. You must complete this step to remove your CGE arrival confirmation course registration hold. *Note: If you enter a hotel or other temporary address, remember to update your SEVIS address in MyFSU within 10 days after your move.

Please note that on-campus residence hall move-in starts at 5pm on May 8. Therefore, students with a confirmed on-campus summer housing contract will need to book a hotel room for at least one night.

If you are arriving in the U.S. in F-1 status for the first time, you may enter up to 30 days before the start date on your I-20 (Check your I-20 for the Earliest Admission Date). Do not buy non-refundable, non-changeable travel tickets until you receive your F-1 visa from the U.S. consulate (citizens of Canada and Bermuda do not require a visa).

May 8, 2025 – REQUIRED CGE International Student orientation (in-person). Register by following these instructions:

•      Login to Nole Start with your FSU credentials.
•      Go to Events on the main page. You may need to click “See More Events” and “See Next 30 Days” to get to the May 8 Orientation listing.
•      Click the "I'm Going" button below to register for the event.
•      Add this event to your personal calendar as there will not be an automated email confirming your registration. 

Check with your admitting academic department for the date of your academic orientation and ensure that you arrive in time to attend. These meetings are important in properly planning your course schedule, because it is not always possible to discern which courses are offered only once a year and/or which must be taken in a certain sequence. We also recommend that you review the online Graduate School information at New Graduate Student Orientation Welcome | The Graduate School (fsu.edu)

Access this form in Nole Start. Follow instructions to enter your U.S. address as your SEVIS address in myFSU, and provide the other information requested on the form. Your CGE advisor will complete the required SEVIS registration process to activate your F-1 SEVIS record.

Click Here to access the FSU immunization requirements and Immunization Form. If you need immunizations, you can get them at University Health Services by calling 850-644-4567 to schedule an appointment.

You must have health insurance that complies with Florida Board of Governors requirements before you can register for classes. You can purchase the FSU sponsored health insurance plan through United Health Care Student Resources or enter information regarding your alternative insurance by clicking here.

You can apply online for an FSU card (pick up in person), make an appointment to get your card, or walk-in for your card, at the Card Center in the FSU bookstore. Make an appointment here. With your FSU Card as identification, you can ride Tallahassee Star Metro buses for free, check out FSU library books, use the University Health and Wellness Center, use campus recreation facilities, attend free concerts, movies and events on campus, and more!

Register for classes during your Open Enrollment dates, found here. You cannot register for classes until all relevant holds are removed.

Pay your tuition after you register for classes and before the posted deadline to avoid class cancellation. The tuition payment deadline is generally the second Friday of each semester as posted on the Academic Calendar at registrar.fsu.edu. For payment methods, go here. *You will not receive an invoice. You find the amount due in myFSU.

If your government or an agency is paying your tuition bill, you MUST submit the Third Party Billing Agreement to Student Business Services no later than the fifth day of class. Student Business Services (SBS) will defer the tuition deadline for students with a 2+2 or Latin America/Caribbean Scholarship until SBS has completed processing of the scholarships.

NameCoach is a tool that celebrates differences and promotes a sense of respectful connection by making it easy to communicate your name's pronunciation and learn your classmates' name pronunciations. To record your name's pronunciation, sign in to my.fsu.edu and follow the prompt.

If you are receiving a (Fulbright or home government) scholarship that is administered through an agency such as IIE, LASPAU, AMIDEAST or OAS, you will work with your agency to provide all documentation necessary for admission. In most cases, the agency will apply for admission to FSU on your behalf; you will not initiate the admission application yourself or contact academic departments or faculty directly. If the agency decides to place you at FSU, we will email you further information to help you prepare to arrive on campus. Your agency will guide you through the required immigration procedures, orientation or gateway programs, and scholarship obligations.

If you are awarded a Fulbright scholarship through a self-placed type of grant (not administered through an agency such as IIE, LASPAU, AMIDEAST, or OAS), you must apply for admission to FSU online at admissions.fsu.edu. In addition to all other documentation required in the online application, you should indicate that you will need the J-1 visa and upload a copy of your Fulbright award letter. You should also email a copy of the award letter to FSU's Office of Graduate Admissions and the CGE's Exchange Visitor Advisor. Emailing the award letter helps to ensure that you receive important pre-arrival information upon admission. If you decide not to attend FSU, please notify both FSU's Office of Graduate Admissions and the CGE's Exchange Visitor Advisor.

If your home government is sponsoring your study in the US, you may be required to use the J-1 visa instead of the F-1 visa. This requirement should be indicated in your award letter. If your scholarship is not administered through an agency such as IIE, LASPAU, AMIDEAST or OAS, you will need to submit your own FSU admissions application online at admissions.fsu.edu. In addition to all other documentation required in the online application, you should indicate that you will need the J-1 visa and upload a copy of your scholarship award letter. After you are formally admitted to FSU, the CGE's Exchange Visitor Advisor will email you instructions to complete the online Certification of Financial Responsibility, which collects information used to issue the DS-2019 form needed to apply for the J-1 visa.

Immigration regulations restrict short-term, non-degree study to students who are coming to FSU under an exchange or special agreement between their home institution and FSU or through a scholarship program, (cooperative agreements do not allow for enrollment in coursework). For a full list of exchange and special agreements, go to global.fsu.edu/global-footprint/global-partners. If your home institution appears on this list, contact the exchange coordinator at your home institution for procedures to apply. Because there are limited exchange spaces available each year, the process may be competitive. Contact your exchange coordinator at least 6 months before your intended semester of enrollment.

Those intending to come to FSU for research or teaching only (no course enrollment) must be invited by an FSU faculty member, after the faculty member has obtained university approval for the visit or paid employment. This process will also be followed by those transferring their J research program from another sponsor to FSU or changing from another status. Please note that FSU cannot issue immigration documents for anyone who is not going to be working directly with an FSU department.