Applications for Spring 2027 are open, with early submissions due October 15 and final submissions due November 1.

A Living & Learning Community

Southern Scholarship Foundation increases access to higher education by providing students with rent-free living and learning communities.

Resident scholars share the cooking, cleaning, and daily running of a scholarship house with their housemates. The award renews each semester that you stay in good standing, for as long as you are enrolled.

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Four Southern Scholarship Foundation residents standing together outside a scholarship house

Partner institutions

Our scholarship houses serve six partner institutions across three Florida cities.

Five things we look for

Eligibility

You can apply at any point in your enrollment. Transfer students, students already on campus, international students, and DACA students are all eligible.

  1. 25 years old or younger.

    On the first day of the semester you are applying for.

  2. A 3.0 GPA or higher.

    Cumulative and unweighted, from high school or college.

  3. Financial need.

    Most students we house have a Student Aid Index (SAI) of 7,500 or below. The SAI is the federal number from your FAFSA that estimates what your family can contribute.

    SAI 7,500 or belowAbove

    If your SAI is higher than 7,500, you can still apply and include an additional financial disclosure document with your application. Some students have circumstances the SAI does not capture.

    Above 7,500? Still apply

  4. Enrolled at a partner school.

    Or planning to enroll at one of our six partner institutions.

  5. Ready to live cooperatively.

    Sharing the cooking, cleaning, and running of the house.

One more thing

Houses are single-gender, and you can read how we treat housing and gender identity.

Gather these first

What you’ll need before you start

Have these ready before you open the application. Gathering them first is the difference between finishing and abandoning the form.

  1. Your official transcript, high school or college

  2. Your Student Aid Index (SAI) from your FAFSA Student Aid Report

  3. Proof of your acceptance to one of our six partner institutions

  4. The name and email address of one recommender — a teacher, professor, coach, guidance counselor, or employer

    Add your recommender as early as you can. You cannot submit your application until SSF has received the letter. A recommender submitted the day before the deadline will likely result in your application not being processed.

    Do this one first

  5. A resume, which is optional but helpful

    Optional

One more thing

You will also write an essay. The prompts are inside the application, so plan for writing time once you start.

Five steps from start to decision

How the process works

  1. Create an account.

    You can save your application and come back to it, so you do not have to finish in one sitting.

  2. Add your materials and your recommender.

    Your recommender gets an email with a link, and you will be notified once the letter arrives.

  3. Submit before the deadline.

    Your application is not complete until your recommendation letter and your proof of acceptance are both in. Interviews are scheduled as applications come in, so submitting by the early deadline usually means an earlier interview.

    Earlier submission, earlier interview

  4. Interview.

    You will have a one-on-one Zoom interview with an SSF staff member, alumnus, board member, or committee member.

  5. Hear back.

    Everyone is notified on the same date.

    April 15Fall decisions
    November 15Spring decisions

When to apply

Application dates

Applications open twice a year, once for the Fall semester and once for the Spring. Each cycle has an early submission date and a final submission date.

Application dates by semester
Deadline Fall Spring
Applications open February 1 September 1
Early submissions March 15 October 15
Final submissions April 1 November 1

Applying early gives you the best chance at a place; houses fill as decisions go out.

What a resident scholar pays

Costs

Living at SSF takes rent off your plate entirely; SSF owns and maintains the houses, so that is a cost resident scholars never carry. What they do budget for is their share of running the house, split with their housemates.

$0

RentNever carried by scholars

$300

A one-time reservation fee, paid when you are accepted. $150 comes back when you leave in good standing.

One-time

$1,300

Your Food and Services Bill, paid each semester directly to your house. Covers groceries, utilities, streaming services, laundry, Wi-Fi, fire monitoring, waste collection, and maintenance. (Actual amount will vary).

Per semester

How the $1,300 Food and Services Bill is paid
FallTwo payments $275by August 7 $1,025by October 15
SpringTwo payments $275by December 30 $1,025by February 15

Bar width = share of the semester bill$1,300 per semester

The bill does not cover tuition, books, or personal expenses.

Semester after semester, until you graduate

Renewal

The scholarship is not a one-time award. It renews as long as you qualify, with no limit on how many semesters you stay until graduation.

One application each semester

You submit a Scholarship Renewal Application each semester.

Renewal depends on:

Five conditions
  1. 3.0 cumulative GPA
  2. Full-time enrollment of at least 12 hours
  3. Continued financial need
  4. Positive participation in your house
  5. On-time payment of your Food and Services Bill

No semester limit

Keep meeting these five conditions and you can renew your scholarship until graduation.

A living and learning community

Living in a scholarship house

Scholarship houses run on shared work. You and your housemates cook and eat together, keep the house clean, manage the house budget, take on leadership roles, and meet regularly to make decisions as a group. It is a real commitment of time each week. It is also what separates a scholarship house from a dorm. Southern Scholarship Foundation calls this a living and learning community.

A semester at SSF.

  • Tallahassee resident scholars and House Managers
  • Resident Scholars at SSF’s Pep Rally
  • Resident Scholars at SSF’s Pep Rally 2
  • Tallahassee Resident Ambassador at Speed Friending Event
  • Mode L. Stone House resident scholars on their semester house trip
  • Resident Scholars of FGCU at a social event
  • Tallahassee resident scholars gathered around the fire pit enjoying s’mores
  • Resident scholars of Hartman-Kiwanis house in Gainesville enjoying leisure time
  • Gainesville House Managers at the Fall Potluck & Graduate Recognition Ceremony
  • Resident Scholars at the Spring Banquet and Graduate Recognition Ceremony in Tallahassee
  • Gainesville resident scholars
  • Resident scholars hanging out at the Hansen house in Gainesville
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Before you apply

Questions?

Want more detail before you apply? These pages go deeper.

Email

Questions about your application? Email admissions@southernscholarship.org.

Ready when you are

Start your application