Pay In-State College Tuition Even If You’re From Out of State? Here’s How May 10, 2010
Ian Welham on how to avoid out-of-state surcharges at non-New Jersey colleges
As we’ve recently reported in this blog, the trend among the most popular public universities is to accept more out-of-state students. The reasons why are simple:
- many states are drowning in debt and out-of-staters pay more
- the reputation of schools such as the University of Virginia, Michigan and a few choice others is so high that there’s a long line of qualified out-ofstate students willing to pay their $40,000+ price tags
But these schools are the exception. For every University of Virginia there’s a Northern Michigan and Northwestern Oklahoma anxious to attract students from outside their state. For every University of Vermont there’s a University of Alaska. In fact, many of these lesser-known colleges are doing the unthinkable: offering in-state tuition for qualified out-of-state students.
At some of these institutions, total cost of attendance – including higher travel expenses – is under $15,000. If your student is better qualified, the tuition discounts can be even greater.
Is there a catch? Just that many of these schools are located in rural or remote areas, in states such as Kansas, North Dakota or Oklahoma.
Eastern Oregon University doesn’t charge out-of-state tuition at all. Northern Michigan University, Southern Illinois University, and Washburn University in Kansas allow students to apply for in-state tuition after living on campus for just six months (and registering to vote and paying local taxes). You can do the same at North Dakota universities after one year.
Other colleges waive out-of-state surcharges to students who meet minimum standards. Northwestern Oklahoma State University offers in-state tuition to any student who has an ACT score of at least 20 (or a two-test SAT score of 940+) and a 2.7 GPA. The University of Louisiana-Lafayette does the same for students with ACT scores of at least 23 (or SATs of 1,060) and GPA of 2.5. Total cost of attendance at each school: about $12,000.
