High School AA Support

Regardless of how many credit hours you bring to FSU, being engaged in your first semester is critical to helping students find their people, explore their passions, and shape their academic success. Engage 100 is an exciting, immersive program designed for all new first-year students at FSU—including high school AA students! Talk with your academic advisor at orientation about which Engage 100 activity will be best for you. You can browse all approved Engage 100 experiences here.

High school AA students should let their advisor at new student orientation know that they earned the AA degree. This is important because students who have earned the AA degree have different degree requirements than students who have not earned this degree.

We recommend that high school AA students build a balanced course schedule in their first semester with a good mix of major, minor, and/or university requirements. Be sure to talk with your academic advisor about fulfilling your mapping milestones for your major and what courses they recommend you take each semester.

The FSU Office of Admissions requires a final official transcript showing that the AA degree has been earned. A final official transcript will show both that the AA degree was earned and the date the degree was earned. It is recommended that you know the process for having the degree posted to your transcript at your AA institution and the best method for requesting your transcript once it’s ready. Once the transcript is sent to FSU, students can monitor their FSU unofficial transcript to ensure that the AA degree is posted. An unofficial transcript can be accessed via Student Center (SC icon in myFSU), clicking on the Academics tab, and selecting Transcript: View Unofficial.

College credit earned through examination that also counts toward AA degree requirements must be listed on your AA transcript for the credit to be awarded at FSU. You need to send official score reports to your AA institution for them to post these credits to your transcript. Delays in receiving test scores will delay the awarding of your AA degree. The Office of Admissions at FSU requires accepted students to finalize their admission by submitting any final transcripts and other admission documents (e.g., ACT/SAT scores, etc.) by mid-July every year. Subsequently, test credits (and dual enrollment courses) needed to earn your AA degree should be complete and your transcript with the AA degree awarded date should be ready by this time.

If you earned test credit but it’s not reflected on your AA transcript, you would need to send the Office of Admissions at FSU your official score report(s).

If the AA degree-granting institution’s transcript only states that “AA general education requirements are satisfied”—or includes a similar general education statement—but does not include the date that the AA degree was earned, please note that this transcript is not the final official transcript that FSU needs. Students will need to contact their AA degree-granting institution to request that their final official transcript showing that the AA degree has been earned be sent to FSU.

There are countless ways to maximize your time at FSU! The Graduation Planning & Strategies Office’s (GPS) High School AA Mentorship Program enables first year students to connect with upperclassmen who have also earned an AA degree in high school. Degree in Three is designed to help students who want to graduate in three years or less while More in Four is for students planning to advance to a master’s program at FSU after graduating with the bachelor’s degree in three years or less. Finally, GPS staff are always excited to connect with you to answer any questions and brainstorm how you can make the most of your time at FSU. Students can schedule an appointment through Campus Connect.

If the AA degree is from an institution in the Florida College System or a state university in Florida, all general education requirements are satisfied by the AA degree. If the AA degree is from a private or out-of-state institution, students may have remaining general education requirements to fulfill. Even though high school AA students come to FSU with 60+ credit hours already earned, they may still be mapped map term 1.

As high school AA students start FSU with 60+ earned credit hours, it’s important to be aware that FSU has a policy that students must declare any second majors or dual degrees that they wish to pursue before earning 90 credit hours. In addition, students with 60+ hours may only use the late drop option for one course between the eighth and twelfth weeks of a semester throughout their entire undergraduate career. You can learn more about these policies here.

Your acceptance to FSU may have been contingent upon receiving the AA degree, so it is important that you contact the Office of Admissions immediately to discuss your options. You can reach the Office of Admissions via email at admissions@fsu.edu or by phone at 850.644.6200.