Wisconsin native Chelsea Clark learned in middle school that her state held a tuition reciprocity agreement with Minnesota.
“I remember my teachers saying, ‘Make sure you look at Minnesota schools because it’ll cost basically the same,'” says the 21-year-old nursing major from Buffalo City, Wisconsin. “Any time they talked about college exploration options, Minnesota schools were always brought up.”
The neighboring states’ reciprocity agreement means residents can attend universities in either state at in-state rates.
Clark says there wasn’t much of a tuition difference between her two top choices: the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Ultimately, she chose to attend UM–Twin Cities because the school guaranteed her entry into its undergraduate nursing program as long as she maintained a 3.0 in prerequisite courses. UW requires students to apply to its nursing school later in their college careers.
Similar to what Clark found, there are ways students can save thousands of tuition dollars without being confined to their home state.
Cost-conscious students often view state colleges as the least expensive route. In-state tuition and fees at public universities cost more than $12,000 less compared with out-of-state rates for the 2017-2018 school year, according to data submitted to U.S. News in an annual survey.
While schools make exceptions for some students to qualify for in-state rates — such as having a parent in the military — many institutions aren’t lenient on domicile rules, experts say.
Residency rules vary by state and institution. Typically, if the student is a dependent — which is the case for most college-bound students — residency is based on where the family lives. Since most prospective undergraduate students aren’t considered financially independent, it’s difficult for them to qualify for domicile tuition in another state.
But there are several ways dependents under age 24 can qualify for reduced rates as out-of-state students. Here are four paths to explore for reduced tuition at out-of-state public institutions.
1. Legacy scholarships that award in-state rates: Following in a parent’s footsteps can reduce tuition costs. The University of Missouri, for example, reduces tuition rates for alumni dependents who excel academically.
[Set up for in-state tuition as a graduate student.]
Frank Wolff says his daughter applied to his alma mater on a whim. “We only found out about the scholarship after she was accepted and received the offer from the university. Otherwise we would have been unaware of the opportunity to get in-state tuition,” he says.
Through the University of Missouri’s Black and Gold Scholarship, the Florida-based family will pay in-state tuition. The program comes with a few caveats, though. To receive a full nonresident tuition waiver, a student must be among the top 25 percent of their high school graduating class and score at least 27 on the ACT, 1280 on the new SAT or 1210 on pre-March 2016 exams.
“I would advise other parents to look for these in-state tuition opportunities. As we discovered, they are out there but don’t seem to be widely publicized,” Wolff says.
Other state institutions offer similar programs. The University of Kansas, for instance, awards the Jayhawk Generations Scholarships; this program awards qualifying legacy students a partial tuition waiver up to 150 percent of the resident tuition rate.
2. College scholarships that award discounted tuition: Students who prefer to blaze their own trail can qualify for in-state tuition at some state schools if they have strong academic credentials.
“To be eligible for tuition discounts generally, out-of-state colleges may throw money at students who exceed the bar on admissions standards,” says Aviva Legatt, founder of VivED Consulting, a Pennsylvania-based college admissions consulting firm.
[Read about 10 ways to nab a scholarship to pay for college.]
One California student who Legatt advised this year received an offer from Indiana University–Bloomington worth around $44,000 a year. “Her qualifications exceeded their averages,” she says.
At the University of Arkansas, the New Arkansan Non-Resident Tuition Award Scholarship is available to students from neighboring states who excel academically. Students from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma who achieve at least a 3.3 GPA in high school and an ACT score of 24 or SAT score of 1160 or better can receive between 70 to 90 percent off nonresident tuition.
But sometimes stellar academic credential aren’t required. For instance, at Georgia Southern University, the school’s campuses in Savannah and Hinesville, Georgia, waive out-of-state tuition rates for residents of Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.
3. State agreements that reduce tuition rates: Sometimes there are flexible residency requirements for students who live near state lines and want to cross over for college.
Minnesota, for example, holds an agreement with several neighboring states — Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, one institution in Iowa and the Canadian province of Manitoba — that reduces nonresident tuition for Minnesotans to attend their public institutions. Other examples include Colorado and New Mexico, which offer their students tuition reciprocity with a few caveats: Spots are limited at some institutions, and students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA.
In the District of Columbia, there’s a special reciprocity arrangement known as the DC Tuition Assistance Grant. With the grant, D.C. residents are offered up to $10,000 annually toward the cost of any public university outside the District.
4. Regional exchange programs that offer tuition discounts: These programs allow students to qualify for tuition at a reduced rate as an out-of-state student.
“Many students attend out-of-state schools, yet they fail to choose a school within the exchange and wind up paying vastly more in tuition,” says Timothy Jaconette, founder of Advanced Admit College Admission Consultant, who is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. “If you are looking to attend an out-of-state-school and pay in-state tuition, the best place to start is to look at the options on the appropriate regional exchange for your state. You can download a list of schools and easily evaluate your options.”
[Explore 12 tuition-free colleges.]
The Western Undergraduate Exchange is available to students who call the following states and territories home: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Under WUE, students can attend certain schools located in other member states and only pay up to 150 percent of the in-state tuition rate. About 160 institutions — both two- and four-year schools — participate in the exchange. The participating institutions include the University of California–Merced and the University of Colorado–Denver.
But there are caveats. Many schools put an annual cap on exchange students, and some restrict tuition breaks to certain majors. At the University of Arizona, for example, out-of-state students can only receive a break in nonresident tuition if they major in mining engineering.
Other tuition exchange programs include the Midwest Student Exchange Program, the New England Regional Student Program and Academic Common Market in the South.
Eligibility depends on a number of factors, including where students live, what degree program they are interested in and whether minimum caps have been met. If students earn a tuition break through the exchange then change majors, they could lose their discount.
Trying to fund your education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for College center.
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How to Get In-State Tuition at Out-of-State Colleges originally appeared on usnews.com
