The first group of high school seniors has received acceptance offers from Florida International University (FIU) for the 2026-2027 academic year. The university’s Office of Admissions released its Early Action decisions at 3:05 p.m. on December 11, with thousands of students learning their admission status through an online portal.
Jody Glassman, assistant vice president for Enrollment & University Admissions, noted a significant increase in applications this year. “We have received applications from all 50 states,” Glassman said. “In Florida, we had a 23% increase in applications from Tampa and 25% increase from Orlando. Students from Cypress Bay, Coral Reef, Miami Palmetto and Hialeah Gardens Senior [high schools] along with a few of the Miami area private schools showed a lot of Panther pride and spirit as decisions dropped.”
Glassman also highlighted that students outside Florida were eager to learn their results. “Students in New York, New Jersey, Texas and Puerto Rico were most anxious about learning their decision,” she said. “More than 600 accessed the portal in the first hour.”
This year’s Early Action round saw more than 12,000 acceptances shared through FIU’s digital system. According to Glassman, over 150 students accepted their offer immediately after receiving it, while others took more time to decide.
“Every year I am thrilled to talk about how the class excels and how impressive the students are as we read through their applications and learn more about their stories,” Glassman said. “This year is no different.”
Applicants this cycle demonstrated strong academic credentials with average GPAs above 4.0 and SAT scores exceeding 1200.
Glassman added that this incoming class stands out for unique reasons: “I also feel like this year the class have a lot of special qualities that we haven’t seen before. This is the class born at the same time as the iPhone and the same year as the final book in the Harry Potter series was released, and both are still going strong nearly 18 years later. This class was born into innovation and maybe just a little bit of magic.”
FIU reported a notable rise in application numbers compared to last year’s Early Action round—a total increase of 19%, including a 15% rise among in-state applicants and a 22% rise among out-of-state applicants.
The university will continue to admit additional students in January and early April.
