Santa Fe College
Rolling
Acceptance rate
$11,490
Tuition/yr
12,000
Enrollment
About Santa Fe College
Community college in Gainesville, Florida. Strong transfer and technical programs.
Santa Fe College (SF) is a public state college in Gainesville, Florida, founded in 1965. It primarily awards associate degrees and certificates across more than 90 programs, and also offers nine bachelor's degrees in fields such as nursing, clinical laboratory science, industrial biotechnology, and information systems technology.
SF is best known for its pathway to the University of Florida (UF), the flagship state university located in the same city. Under a guaranteed admission articulation agreement, SF students who earn an associate degree with a 2.5 GPA are guaranteed transfer into 19 UF programs, and a dedicated engineering partnership allows early transition to UF's College of Engineering. SF sends more transfer students to UF than any other college in Florida.
The college sits on a 150-acre campus in Gainesville and hosts several distinctive facilities: the only on-campus teaching zoo in the United States accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a planetarium, a geological cave field laboratory, and a fine-arts hall. In 2015 SF received the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the most prestigious recognition in American community college education.
Campus & Location
FL
Suburban
Optional Practical Training (OPT)
All graduates qualify for 12-month OPT. STEM-designated programs (CS, Engineering, Data Science, Mathematics, Sciences) qualify for 24-month STEM OPT extension — 36 months total work authorisation.
For Nepali students
- SF's out-of-state tuition is approximately $383 per credit hour (2024-25 rate), placing annual tuition well below most four-year universities in the US, making it one of the most affordable entry points into an American credential for Nepali students on a tight budget.
- The guaranteed UF transfer pathway is a concrete, structured route: a Nepali student can complete two years at SF, then transfer directly into the University of Florida, a Top 6 US public university, without having to compete in UF's highly selective freshman admissions pool.
- F-1 visa holders are eligible to apply for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) during their studies and Optional Practical Training (OPT) after graduation, giving up to 12 months of US work authorization (36 months for STEM-designated programs at the bachelor level such as biotechnology and information systems).
- SF's International Student Services office provides dedicated F-1 advising, and Gainesville's large student population, anchored by UF's 57,000+ students, means a well-established South-Asian student community and Indian/Nepali grocery and cultural amenities in the city.
Admission requirements — Nepali equivalents
A rough translation of the published minimums for Nepali applicants:
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