Public
Accredited · Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
St. Petersburg, Florida
St Petersburg College — Admission Snapshot 2026
A complete at-a-glance picture of every metric that matters for your 2026 application
3Avg GPA
$10,634Annual Cost
$42,557Grad Salary
33.1%Pell Grant
Avg GPA
3
Selectivity
Open Enrollment
Institution Type
Public
Campus
Main Campus
Accredited By
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
SAT Middle 50%
-40–30
Need-Based Aid
33.1% receive Pell
St Petersburg College was Florida's first two-year college, established in 1927. It now offers bachelor's degrees in selected fields.
The college is renowned for its veterinary technology and dental hygiene programs. SPC's 'My Learning Plan' helps students map their educational journey.
St Petersburg College Acceptance Rate
Admission at St Petersburg College is inclusive by design: 100% of applicants who meet basic eligibility are accepted.
What to Expect
- Eligibility First: A high school diploma or GED typically clears the main bar.
- Plan Ahead for Placement: Placement tests can shape which courses you start in — worth preparing for.
Selectivity at a Glance
Open Enrollment
Selectivity scale: Open Enrollment — rate not reported
Most Selective (0%)Open Enrollment (100%)
A GPA a bit under the average isn't disqualifying at this tier — a solid test score or clear leadership record can offset it.
Recommended Academic Profile
Candidate GPA Range
Admission Category
Strategic Requirement
3.00 – 4.00
Target Match
Maintain Rigor & High Testing
2.80 – 2.99
Competitive Reach
Focus on Score Compensation
Below 2.55
Secondary Reach
Requires Contextual Support
Source: IPEDS & College Scorecard (Nov 2025).
St Petersburg College Application Deadlines & Admission Dates 2026
St Petersburg College follows a Rolling Admissions policy, meaning applications are reviewed as they arrive and there is no single fixed deadline.
Key Admission Dates
Rolling Admissions — Apply Anytime
SPC reviews applications continuously throughout the year. Seats and scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so applying early gives you a significant advantage for both admission and financial aid.
Deadlines are verified from official institutional sources but may change each cycle. Always confirm final dates on the official website.
SPC GPA Requirement
The average GPA of admitted students at SPC is 3. That makes admissions here moderately selective. Most admitted students carry a blend of A's, B's, and the occasional C.
A stronger SAT or ACT score can comfortably offset a GPA on the lower end of this range.
Note the scale: this figure reflects an unweighted 4.0 GPA. Add AP or IB coursework and the equivalent weighted GPA usually lands around 3.20–3.40.SPC GPA & Admission Outlook
Assessment: Admission here leans heavily on holistic review.
Recommended Strategy: Leans on context — leadership, personal circumstances, or a standout talent.
This range is a rough map — where you land determines what else needs to carry weight in your application:
Candidate GPA Range
Admission Category
Strategic Requirement
3.00 – 4.00
Strategic Reach
Maintain Rigor & High Testing
2.80 – 2.99
Competitive Match
Focus on SAT/ACT Compensation
2.60 – 2.79
Secondary Reach
Personal Statement & Impact
Below 2.59
Institutional Reach
Requires Significant Contextual Factors
Evaluation Metrics That Matter Here
- St. Petersburg College was founded in 1927 as Florida's first two-year college and in 2001 became the first community college in Florida authorized to award bachelor's degrees (first degrees awarded 2002). Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Nursing programs (ASN and BSN) accredited by ACEN. Open admissions for associate programs; bachelor's programs have separate admissions requirements by program.
- SPC offers 22 bachelor's degrees including Nursing (RN-to-BSN, online), Elementary Education, Exceptional Student Education (Special Ed), Dental Hygiene, Veterinary Technology, Cardiopulmonary Science, Digital Media, Business Administration, Health Services Administration, and others. Tuition is approximately half of Florida State University System rates per credit hour. No on-campus housing at any SPC campus (6 campuses + 3 centers across Pinellas County).
- Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE): mandatory for all AA and bachelor's degree students under catalog year 2021-22 or later; must pass FCLE AND complete a qualifying civic literacy course (POS 2041 or AMH 2020) before graduating; 80 multiple-choice questions, untimed; by appointment only at SPC testing centers; exemptions for students with qualifying AP scores (AP U.S. Government 3+, AP U.S. History 4+), qualifying CLEP scores, or documented FCLE pass from a Florida public high school submitted via FASTER.
- AA transfer: Florida articulation guarantee requires SUS institutions to accept AA graduates as juniors with general education complete; FloridaShines.org lists institution-specific transfer guides and course equivalencies for planning major preparation coursework. SPC alumni rank 1st in Florida among two-year college graduates for possessing the most valuable job skills, per SPC's own reported alumni data.
- Rigor Over Raw Number: Course rigor is read alongside the number itself — a 3.8 with a demanding schedule can beat a 4.0 without one.
- Trajectory Matters: Grades that climb toward graduation tend to matter more than a flat average — the trajectory tells its own story.
Data verified via IPEDS, College Scorecard (Nov 2025) and the Common Data Set (CDS). Expert Review led by Sohaib Khan and Dr. Waseem.
Check Your Admission Chances at SPC
Admission Chance Predictor
Built from St Petersburg College's own verified admissions data — adjust the sliders below
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Calculating Profile...
Adjust the sliders to see how every decimal point affects your outcome.
Your SAT Score 1200
Your Unweighted GPA 3.00
⚠️ Note: Predicting based on regional averages as this institution does not publicly report full score datasets.
Calculated via College Portal's Human-Intelligence (HI) Methodology & Editorial Standards. Verified by Sohaib Ahmad Khan.
St Petersburg College (SPC) Test Requirements
Scores aren't just a formality at SPC — landing within or above the 2026 admitted class's middle 50% keeps you fully competitive, even where submission is optional.
Can I Get Into SPC Without SAT or ACT?
SPC's test-score policy isn't published. As a default, submit your score only if it's at or above the state/national average — a below-average score can work against you.
Your 2026 Admissions Roadmap for SPC
Inclusive Strategy: Success & Transfer
SPC's open-access model means the real strategic decisions happen after enrollment: course planning, advising, and whether to transfer later.
SPC Was the First Community College in Florida to Award Bachelor's Degrees - Its 22 Bachelor's Programs Are Full Degrees, Not Bridge Programs
In 2001, the Florida Legislature passed legislation specifically authorizing St. Petersburg College (then St. Petersburg Junior College) to become the first two-year college in Florida to offer bachelor's degrees; the college dropped "Junior" from its name and began awarding baccalaureates in 2002. This is not a historical footnote - it shapes what SPC is today. SPC now offers 22 bachelor's degrees, including fully accredited programs in Nursing (RN-to-BSN, online), Elementary Education, Exceptional Student Education, Dental Hygiene, Veterinary Technology, Digital Media, Business Administration, Cardiopulmonary Science, and Health Services Administration. These are not articulation agreements or bridge programs at a different university; they are degrees awarded by SPC itself, at SPC's per-credit-hour rate (approximately half the cost of Florida State University System tuition). For students entering a health science or education career who already hold or are completing an Associate in Science degree, SPC's bachelor's track is a structurally and financially distinct option from transferring to USF or UCF.
The Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE) Is a Mandatory Graduation Requirement for All AA and Bachelor's Degree Students - Complete It in the First Semester, Not the Last
Under Florida Rule 6A-10.04213, any SPC student pursuing an AA or baccalaureate degree who enrolled in catalog year 2021-22 (catalog 595) or later must both complete a qualifying civic literacy course (POS 2041 American Government or AMH 2020 Modern American History) AND pass the Florida Civic Literacy Examination (FCLE) before graduating. The FCLE is an 80-question multiple-choice exam covering American democracy, the U.S. Constitution, founding documents, and landmark Supreme Court cases - untimed, but typically completed in about one hour. Students who passed the FCLE while in a Florida public high school (class of 2022 or later) may be exempt if SPC receives their official transcript through FASTER. The exam must be taken at an SPC campus testing center by appointment; students living outside Pinellas, Pasco, or Hillsborough counties may request online proctoring, but availability is limited and approval is not guaranteed based on personal preference or scheduling convenience. Waiting until the final semester to discover this requirement is unmet is a real, documented failure pattern at SPC and across Florida colleges.
Nursing at SPC Has Two Distinct, Separate Tracks - Prospective Students Must Identify the Right One Before Applying to Any Program
SPC's nursing offerings are structurally separate programs that serve different populations and do not feed into each other automatically. Track one: the Associate in Science in Nursing (ASN), a competitive limited-access program that prepares non-nurse students for the NCLEX-RN and leads to initial RN licensure, offered at the Caruth Health Education Center and Clearwater campus. The ASN has separate competitive admissions with prerequisite GPA requirements, and offers an LPN-to-RN Bridge Track for licensed practical nurses. Track two: the RN-to-BSN program, a fully online one-year degree-completion program designed exclusively for students who already hold an active, unencumbered RN license and a regionally accredited associate nursing degree. These two programs require different qualifications, serve different populations, and run on different academic calendars - the ASN begins in August and January; the RN-to-BSN is fully online with flexible enrollment. Students who arrive at SPC without this distinction clearly understood are frequently misdirected during advising.
SPC's Transfer AA Track Feeds Directly Into Florida State University System Programs - Use FloridaShines to Map Course Equivalencies Before Registering
SPC's Associate in Arts degree is designed to transfer seamlessly to any State University System (SUS) institution in Florida under the statewide articulation guarantee: students who earn an AA from a Florida College System institution and are admitted to a Florida public university must be accepted as juniors with their lower-division general education requirements satisfied. However, "general education satisfied" is not the same as "major preparation complete" - upper-division programs at USF, UCF, and Florida State have their own prerequisite requirements that go beyond the AA. SPC's Transfer Center counselors can pull institution-specific transfer guides from FloridaShines.org to map course equivalencies for specific target programs before a student registers for a single class. The strategic move is to identify the target SUS institution and major in the first semester and work backward to ensure every course selected at SPC carries forward efficiently - not to complete the AA and then ask which classes count at the destination.
Expert Insight:
The most consequential failure pattern specific to SPC involves the Florida Civic Literacy Exam. Students who enroll in an AA or bachelor's program, complete all coursework, and then discover in their final semester that they have not yet taken or passed the FCLE face a hard graduation hold: the exam cannot be waived based on completion of the course alone, and it cannot be retroactively satisfied by the course credit. Because SPC's FCLE testing centers work by appointment, and because appointment availability near graduation peaks is limited and online testing for local students is not guaranteed, students who wait until the last moment can find themselves delayed an entire term over a single 80-question civics exam. The second failure: students in SPC's limited-access nursing and health sciences programs who do not read the admissions guide carefully and apply to the wrong program - applying to the RN-to-BSN without an active RN license, or to the generic health sciences pathway when they needed to apply separately to the ASN competitive process.
SPC Profile
Full Name
St Petersburg College (SPC)
City
St. Petersburg
State
Florida
ZIP Code
33701
Type
Public
Campus
Main Campus
Official Website
Accredited By
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCC)
Is a SPC Degree Worth It?
At $10,634/year against a $42,557 median graduate salary, SPC is worth weighing against your specific program and financial situation — the numbers below give you a real basis for that decision.
Admitted students' families report a median household income around $50,800, and graduates see a 2.78% unemployment rate.
How much does a degree from SPC Cost?
Listed tuition runs $10,634/year at SPC; factor in Pell and federal grant aid and most students land typically much lower.
At SPC, 33.1% receive a Pell Grant and 17.4% carry federal loans. Filing FAFSA early and naming SPC on it improves your shot at both.
How much does a SPC Graduate earn?
Ten years out from enrollment, SPC graduates report a median income of $42,557, about 5% above the U.S. median graduate income.
Degree Programs at SPC
Bachelor Degree Programs
Post-baccalaureate Certificate Programs
Associate Degree Programs
Frequently Asked Questions About SPC Admissions
St Petersburg College graduates earn a lower median salary of $42,557/year, especially outside technical fields.
Tuition at St Petersburg College is relatively affordable, around $10,634/year.
33.1% of St Petersburg College students get a Pell Grant. Your odds depend mostly on household income — filing FAFSA early still helps maximize what you're offered.
The average GPA of admitted St Petersburg College students is 3, reflecting a competitive applicant pool.
There's no strict cutoff, but a GPA at or above 2.7 puts you in the standard applicant pool at St Petersburg College. Below that, your essays and recommendations need to work harder to provide context.
A GPA of 2.6 or below makes admission tougher at St Petersburg College, but strong test scores, activities, and essays — plus AP/IB coursework — can still keep you in contention.
St Petersburg College follows Rolling Admissions — applications are reviewed year-round, so applying early is your best strategy.
St Petersburg College charges an application fee of 40; ask admissions about waiver eligibility if cost is a barrier.
Transferring in is a well-trodden path here. Line up your transcripts, recommendations, and a strong personal statement before applying.
The biggest levers are academic performance, a clear extracurricular focus, and essays that stand out — plus a solid test score where the school considers one.