Eagle Summer Start

A thorough review of your admission application and academic performance enabled Admissions to provide you with the positive admission to Florida Gulf Coast University through the opportunity to be in the Eagle Summer Start program.

No, Eagle Summer Start students have their admission deposit waived. Because your program costs for your first semester (summer) are covered, you are not responsible for paying an admission deposit.

Your UIN is located in your Future Eagle Account, under your Application Information on the Application Tab, listed as the Student ID Number. All UIN’s are nine digits long and start with 815.

If you are admitted to Florida Gulf Coast University through the Eagle Summer Start program, you are required to start in the summer B term through the program in order to enroll in fall classes. You are not able to start directly in the fall.

If you decline your admission to the Eagle Summer Start program, you will not be eligible for fall 2026 enrollment. Participating in Eagle Summer Start is your opportunity to attend Florida Gulf Coast University as a first-time-in-college student and is your final decision for fall 2026. If you choose to not start in summer as part of the Eagle Summer Start program, you will not be able to attend FGCU in the fall.

The Eagle Summer Start program will fill on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning that the students who accept their decision reply sooner will be given a seat in the program and be able to attend FGCU. Although it is difficult to predict how quickly the program will be filled, students typically have some time to make their decision. It is important to remember that space is limited.

Undergraduate Admissions offers a variety of events each spring semester where students and their families can learn more about Florida Gulf Coast University, our academic programs, campus amenities, and resources. These include scheduled campus tours and Say Yes to the Nest.

All students are automatically classified as out-of-state for tuition purposes upon admission. As part of the admission process, students are required to establish their residency through submission of the appropriate documentation in your Future Eagle Account. Information on residency eligibility is available online. It is critical that you complete your residency process in a timely manner so that your tuition and fees are assessed to your account correctly.

The Eagle Summer Start program is invitation-only, and space is limited to 130 students.

Eagle Summer Start takes place during the six-week summer B term, which starts on Monday, June 22^nd, 2026, and runs through August 1^st, 2026.

The goals of the Eagle Summer Start program are to help students acclimate to the expectations of college, become familiar with campus resources, and build confidence before the fall semester begins. To achieve these goals, students will take three academic courses (totaling seven credits), engage in activities, interact with their peers, and network with campus faculty, staff, and peer mentors that are committed to student success.

All costs for the Eagle Summer Start program will be covered by financial aid and FGCU scholarships. This includes summer housing, a summer meal plan, seven credits of tuition and fees, and program activities. By providing the program at no cost to the student, you can focus on your , campus life, and getting a great start on your college journey during the summer term. The Eagle Summer Start program is only fully funded for students during the summer term; students are responsible for their enrollment costs in fall and spring. You will be responsible for paying your Eagle View Orientation program fee; students living on-campus in the fall semester will be responsible for paying the fall Housing application as well.

You will take seven credits of coursework in the summer B term, including an English Composition course (3 credits), a General Education Humanities course (3 credits), and a Student Success course (1 credit).

The courses students in Eagle Summer Start take are foundational General Education courses required for graduation and will give you skills to success in subsequent courses that you take as an FGCU student.

Classes for Eagle Summer Start take place on-campus daily, Monday-Friday. Since the summer term is condensed (6 weeks instead of 15 weeks like fall or spring), class sessions are longer. Courses and program-related activities will take place primarily during the day, both on main campus and in South Village Housing. Course schedules will be released to students participating in the program after course registration has been processed.

The summer B term is only six weeks long, and covers the same amount of content that a course would cover in a 15-week timeframe, so course sessions are longer, and content moves more quickly over the course of the summer. Therefore, students are not advised to miss class if avoidable. Students and their families should plan any summer vacations or planned time away outside of the six-week summer B term. This allows students to focus on their classes and getting a successful start in college.

You will be registered for your Eagle Summer Start classes by the University. This will include your seven credits of summer coursework. There are also classes you will take in fall semester associated with the Eagle Summer Start program, where you will stay connected to the faculty, staff, and peer students that you interacted with in the summer term. The University will register you for these fall classes as well, so there is no action you need to take for that to happen. Your academic advisor will help you get registered for the remainder of your fall classes based on the requirements of your academic program.

Absolutely! You will take seven credits of coursework in the summer B term, including an English Composition course (3 credits), a General Education Humanities course (3 credits), and a Student Success course (1 credit). All of these courses count towards your bachelor’s degree and the minimum of 120 credits you must complete as an undergraduate student. Additionally, these seven credits also count towards the summer enrollment requirement (9 credits total) set by the State of Florida.

No, all Eagle Summer Start classes will be held in-person on the FGCU campus.

FTIC students are required to start in the B term of summer and cannot take classes in the A term during their first semester.

Once you complete the Eagle Summer Start program, you will simply continue into the fall semester once summer ends. You do not need to reapply to FGCU or complete any additional steps to continue your enrollment as an FGCU student. There will be special course sections that you will take as part of the Eagle Summer Start program, often with the same students and faculty as the summer, which will ease your transition to college.

Yes, you can enroll as a full-time student in the fall semester after completing Eagle Summer Start. To be considered a full-time student, you must take at least twelve (12) credits in the fall semester; most first-year students take fifteen (15) credits per semester to stay on track for a timely graduation. You do not need to reapply to FGCU or complete any additional steps; you will simply continue into the fall semester once summer ends.

As long as you complete the 2026-2027 FAFSA process and meet the eligibility requirements, you can receive financial aid in the fall semester. Information about tuition and fees for the fall semester is available online. Completing the 2026-2027 FAFSA will allow students to maximize their financial aid awards for the fall and spring semesters.

If you have additional questions about Eagle Summer Start, please contact Dr. Allison Bacigalupi, Senior Director for Retention & Graduation Services, at abacigalupi@fgcu.edu.

Housing and a meal plan are provided to all Eagle Summer Start students, free of charge, for the summer B term. All first-year students who are starting at FGCU in the summer B term, including those students in Eagle Summer Start, will live together in the same building in South Village (SOVI). The residential component of Eagle Summer Start is an important part of the program, and one of the ways you will begin building connections at FGCU as a new Eagle! Summer room assignments will be issued the first week of June. Students will be prompted via email when they should complete their summer housing applications, since the summer housing application fee is waived.

Housing move-in for the summer B term will begin on Saturday, June 20^th at 9:00 AM. Specific details about the move-in process will be included in your summer housing assignment letter issued in early June.

You are not required to live on campus in the fall semester, but if you choose to, you will need to complete a second Housing application through the Housing Portal. The sooner you apply, the better, as you will have the opportunity to select your Fall-Spring room based on your completed housing application date. The Eagle Summer Start program will not cover the cost of the $50 application fee for your Academic Year (Fall-Spring) housing application. More details about that process can be found on the Housing website.

Eagle Summer Start participants will have the opportunity to sign up for break housing that will allow them to transition seamlessly from their summer housing assignment into their fall housing assignment without having to fully checkout during the week and half between semesters. Additional details about this opportunity can be found on the Housing website. If you want to check out and return for the fall semester, you can see details about the fall check-in process on the Housing website.

As part of the Eagle Summer Start program, you will receive a meal plan to cover the summer B term. The details of the dining plan are still being finalized, and information will be shared once it is available.

You will receive your Eagle Email address when you claim your Eagle Access account online. Your Eagle Access account is your official communication connection to the University, so it is critical that you claim your account quickly.

You will apply for summer housing through the Housing Portal. Since Eagle Summer Start students live on campus during the six-week program, you must complete the housing application process. You are not required to live on campus during the fall/spring semesters, but if you choose to, you must submit a second housing application for that term.  The Eagle Summer Start program will cover the cost of your summer Housing Application, but you will be responsible for the $50 Academic Year housing application fee if you decide to live on campus for the fall/spring semesters. Students will be prompted via email when they should complete their summer housing applications, since the summer housing application fee is waived. Students should complete their fall-spring housing application as efficiently as possible (including paying the $50 application fee for this application).

To ensure your program costs are fully covered by financial aid and University sources, you need to complete the financial aid application process through FAFSA. You need to complete both the 2026-2026 and 2026-2027 FAFSA, since your enrollment covers two separate aid years. You must complete the 2025-2026 FAFSA process to have your program costs covered for the summer term.

Orientation registration typically begins in March each year, but once registration is open, you will be prompted to register for a session through email communications. Once you accept your admission offer by answering your decision reply question and your admissions deposit is waived, you will be able to click a button on your Future Eagle Account that says “Register for Orientation!”. You will then select your preferred Eagle View Orientation session from the list of available dates. After selecting your preferred session, you will complete the registration form and add any guests who will attend the Parent and Family Orientation program. After registering and paying your Orientation fees, you will receive additional communications through your Eagle Email account of future steps in the enrollment process.