Since you will begin as a Santa Fe student in your first Fall semester, your financial aid will initially be administered by Santa Fe College. Once you are officially admitted to UF, your financial aid will be administered by UF. Since you originally applied to UF, Santa Fe does not have your application information, and they are unable to access your FAFSA information. UF will not process your financial aid, because you are not an officially admitted UF student at this time. After the May 1st confirmation deadline, UF will send your application data to Santa Fe which will allow Santa Fe to create your student record. Santa Fe Financial Aid will then be able to determine your financial aid eligibility, and you will be able to see your estimated financial aid package. Please keep in mind that this process can take several weeks.

We understand that this timeline is not ideal. You can, however, use Bright Futures at Santa Fe College, just as you would be able to use it at any other school, and if you qualify for financial aid at other schools, you will most likely qualify for financial aid at Santa Fe. For additional information about using Bright Futures at Santa Fe, please visit the Santa Fe website.

Visit the Santa Fe Financial Aid webpage for tips on estimating your financial aid package. On this page, navigate to “Incoming UF@SF Students.”

You will need to either submit or adjust your FAFSA to include both the University of Florida AND Santa Fe College. The FAFSA code for Santa Fe is 001519, and the FAFSA code for UF is 001535. By adding Santa Fe College to your FAFSA, this will trigger a notification to you that you need to apply to Santa Fe. Please ignore this notification. Your confirmation of participation in this program will serve as your application to Santa Fe College, and multiple applications can cause a delay in processing.

Both Santa Fe and UF have cost of attendance websites. In addition to these resources, please remember that you will pay the Santa Fe tuition rate for your Santa Fe courses and the UF tuition rate for your UF courses. The number of courses to be taken at Santa Fe and the number of semesters at Santa Fe will vary among students and is often dependent on whether a student is bringing in any credit. We encourage you to take a look at the course plans for the program and use these as a guide to estimate the number of courses and semesters at both Santa Fe and UF.

No, a tuition deposit is not required for the program. Simply complete the online confirmation form by the May 1st deadline. 

Your eSantaFe account will be created after your student record is created at Santa Fe. This will most likely happen in mid-late May.

Your Gatorlink account will be activated once you have been officially admitted to UF, but not before then.

After your student record is created at Santa Fe, you will be contacted for early advising for summer and/or fall course registration. While we know that you are eager to register for courses, please keep in mind that this will not happen until mid-late May. Meanwhile, consistently check your email for messages from UF and Santa Fe about items that you can take care of prior to registration, such as math placement tests and sending test scores and transcripts to UF and Santa Fe.

Students in this program will need to secure off-campus housing. Santa Fe does not offer on-campus housing and UF on-campus housing is not available to students in this program until they have been officially admitted to UF.

Students starting in the Gator Engineering at Santa Fe program are not able to live on UF’s campus during their first year. Students in the program are eligible to apply for UF housing in their second year as long as they have been admitted to UF by that time.

This depends on your definition of a traditional freshman experience. This program will provide you with the opportunity to learn how to study and succeed in a college environment; build your academic foundation for the rest of your undergraduate career; get involved in student organizations; and build a meaningful network of relationships with advisors, professors, and other students. This program does not provide an on-campus living experience, including eating at the dining halls, attending football games as a freshman student, or  working out at UF gyms.

This depends on the desired major, as well as when you decide to change your major. Changing your major at UF is a possibility, but it is not guaranteed. You are not eligible to change your major at UF until you have completed the critical tracking requirements for your original major and you are still required to meet the AA degree requirements in a timely fashion. This often takes several semesters, and it would be very difficult to stay on track for engineering while completing the pre-requisites/critical tracking for another major (especially a major outside of engineering). There are some majors at UF that are flexible and accommodating to students who wish to change into that major. There are other majors at UF that are not as flexible and sometimes even require students to complete the AA and the pre-requisites/critical tracking at Santa Fe and then reapply to UF as a traditional transfer student.

Most engineering majors at UF require the same critical tracking course requirements, but changing to an engineering major outside of the program is not guaranteed.

If you decide to change your major at Santa Fe, you are free to do so. You would leave the program and transition to a traditional AA degree seeking student at Santa Fe for your intended major. While you would forfeit your opportunity for admission to UF, you would still be eligible to apply as a traditional transfer student to your new major at UF after completing your AA degree at Santa Fe. This path would eliminate the requirement of completing the critical tracking requirements for your original major.

If you are unsure about pursuing engineering, the Gator Engineering at Santa Fe program may not be your best option. This program was designed to provide more students with the opportunity to study specific engineering majors at UF and is set up to meet the course requirements for those majors. While we understand that students often change their minds about which major to pursue, we want to be upfront about the possible limitations of the program. Students who are admitted to UF through this program should not expect to be able to change to a different area of study (or even to an engineering major outside of the program) at UF without possibly having to reapply as a traditional transfer student.

Program information sessions will be held each spring virtually via Zoom, and registration is required. You can find registration details for upcoming information sessions on our Invited & Prospective Students page. Please note that information sessions are currently limited to invited students.

To officially accept your invitation into the Gator Engineering at Santa Fe program, please complete and submit your confirmation form. The confirmation deadline is May 1st.

This program is the first of its kind in the region – a result of a collaboration between the University of Florida, the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, and Santa Fe College. The program allows a cohort of students to take their critical tracking courses at Santa Fe, with smaller class sizes and more personal attention, while pursuing a UF Engineering degree.

Gator Engineering at Santa Fe students will be given specific programming and opportunities only afforded to those participating in the program. This may include undergraduate research, specialized programming, early connections with UF faculty, participation in an Engineering Design course and specialized one-on-one advising from both Santa Fe and UF.

Students are invited to participate in the Gator Engineering at Santa Fe Program in response to their application to the University of Florida for freshman admission. Students in Gator Engineering at Santa Fe will enroll as Santa Fe College students during the first fall semester and will be admitted into the University of Florida based upon meeting specific GPA and critical tracking course requirements as set by the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. If students meet requirements after the first fall semester, students will continue taking courses at Santa Fe, but will be University of Florida students.  This is unlike a traditional transfer program wherein students are required to apply and are admitted to their desired major based on meeting the pre-requisites and subject to available space. Traditional transfer students are not guaranteed admission.

All students must earn and maintain semester and cumulative GPAs of 2.0 or higher. Students must also earn and maintain a minimum 2.5 critical tracking GPA with a minimum grade of C or better in all critical tracking courses, based on a maximum of two attempts including withdrawals. Students may double-attempt up to three critical tracking courses. Critical tracking GPAs are calculated based on the UF grading scale. To be admitted to UF for the second semester, students must take at least one critical tracking course during the first fall semester and earn a 2.5 grade point average in the critical tracking course(s).

In general, critical tracking courses for each major include Calculus 1 (MAC 2311), Calculus 2 (MAC 2312), Calculus 3 (MAC 2313), Differential Equations (MAP 2302), Chemistry 1 (CHM 2045), Physics 1 with Calculus (PHY 2048), and Physics 2 with Calculus (PHY 2049). Some majors have an additional required critical tracking course. For the most up to date critical tracking courses for your major, please visit the UF Undergraduate Catalog.

You will be considered a Santa Fe student during your first fall semester of study. Students who meet the critical tracking course requirements during that semester will become a UF student in their second semester of study. If critical tracking course requirements are not met after the first fall semester, students will be reevaluated at the end of the summer semester; UF admission will be granted based on adequate progress through critical tracking courses.

This program was developed in recognition of the fact that UF is forced to turn away many hard working and gifted pre-engineering freshman applicants each year due to space restrictions. This program gives select students the chance to take their critical tracking courses at Santa Fe, in a smaller class setting with more one-on-one attention, and the opportunity to be UF admitted as soon as their first spring semester based on their performance in those courses. Due to each student’s admission to UF being based on their first fall semester performance, they are unable to be considered a UF student during their first semester.

No. When you confirm your participation in the program, you will submit a consent form giving the University of Florida permission to share your application data with Santa Fe College. This will serve as your application to Santa Fe College.

If you successfully complete critical tracking course requirements, you will be admitted to UF without having to reapply. However, if you do not remain in the program and you still wish to pursue a degree at UF, you will have to reapply to UF as a transfer student once you complete the traditional transfer requirements at Santa Fe.

Yes. Pending successful completion of critical tracking courses, the courses taken at Santa Fe will be applied to your UF degree. The courses taken at UF will be shared with Santa Fe College so that you will be awarded your A.A. degree from Santa Fe College.

Yes. Upon completion of the requirements for the Associate’s degree, you will earn an A.A. degree from Santa Fe College.

Yes. Students in tracks that do not have a summer semester built in can opt to take courses during the summer semester to move faster through the program. Students may also have the opportunity to begin courses before the first fall semester.

The College of Engineering Undergraduate Student Affairs office has a dedicated staff member who will be available for advising Gator Engineering at Santa Fe students and will be present on both Santa Fe’s campus as well as UF’s campus. The Gator Engineering at Santa Fe Center, also known as the Gator Den, will be available for students participating in this program.

While you are a Santa Fe College student, you will take Santa Fe College courses. If you are UF admitted after your first fall semester, you will take one UF class during the spring semester and if needed, in the second fall semester. If UF admitted, during your first spring semester at SF, you will enroll in UF’s Engineering Design and Society class or a course that is appropriate for your major. If needed, you will work with your advisors to find the most appropriate UF course to enroll in for the second fall semester. With the approval of your advisor and contingent on your critical tracking progress, you may be able to take other UF courses.

Yes. Once admitted to UF, students are eligible to apply to the College of Engineering Undergraduate Scholarship Program.

If you do not meet the critical tracking course requirements, you will be placed on probation and will remain a Santa Fe student during the first spring term. If at the end of the spring term you remove yourself from probation, you will then be admitted as a UF student. If you are not able to remove yourself from probation by the end of the second fall semester, you will have the option to complete your A.A. degree and apply to UF as a traditional transfer student.

If you decide that you want to pursue a different Engineering major offered within the program, you may do so. If this happens while taking classes at Santa Fe, you must notify the Gator Engineering at Santa Fe academic advisor as well as the program coordinator.

If you decide to pursue an Engineering major not offered within the program, you must leave the program and pursue courses at Santa Fe or elsewhere with the intention of applying to UF through the traditional transfer admissions process.

If you wish to change to a different Engineering major after you have been admitted to UF, you must consult with your intended major to determine their admissions policies as it is at the department’s discretion; some majors will allow it and some will not.

It is extremely important that you discuss these decisions with your advisor and the program coordinator prior to making any changes to your program of study.

If you decide that Engineering isn’t for you while you are taking classes at Santa Fe, you can switch into any of the other degree programs that Santa Fe offers. However, this will eliminate your admission to UF through the Gator Engineering at Santa Fe Program, and you must go through the traditional transfer application route for your program of choice.

Yes. Students can take classes at their home institution during the summer semester.